Dream Waltz
by Raberba girl
Summary: Terra & Cinderella in various situations, often romantic (the first one's platonic). Sometimes AU.
1. Beginnings

Dream Waltz

Kingdom Hearts fanwork: Drabble challenge by HawkRider, written by Raberba girl

Summary: For HawkRider's "Hundred Words of Impossible Love" challenge, focused on Terra & Cinderella. Includes AUs.

Introduction: For the longest time, I never even thought about crossing Disney, Final Fantasy, or original Kingdom Hearts characters in pairings, I tended to keep them separate (and still do, for the most part...though Saïx/Jasmine has rather caught my fancy, too). However, once Kiryn introduced me to the idea of Terra & Cinderella as a pairing, pointing out all the ship-teasing between them in _Birth by Sleep_, Terrella became the only KH romantic pairing that I actually care about so far. I adore AkuSai in a platonic interpretation, I prefer Demyx & Larxene to be exes, the Xemnas/KH cargo ship is complete and total crack, and all the other KH romantic pairings I like are really just mild preferences. Honestly, I prefer most of the characters, such as Riku and Roxas, to be single, and KH is at its best when dealing with friendships rather than romance. Anyway, Terrella is the one pairing that significantly caught my interest, but I hadn't had a chance to see or make any fanwork for them.

Fast-forward to my introduction to drabble challenges. OF COURSE it would be Axel and Saïx who dragged me into them, and once I started writing my first challenge for those two brats, I got mobbed by plot bunnies for a ton of other drabble series subjects. I've had my eye on several challenges with good prompt lists and loose or almost loose enough guidelines to accommodate my picky muse. HawkRider's "Hundred Words of Impossible Love" was one of the ones I couldn't stop pining for, but the "impossible love" theme was the only reason I hesitated, since I didn't want to be fixed on just that one. Then it _finally_ occurred to me that Terrella would fit the bill (because she ultimately belongs with Prince Charming, in my opinion), and that it would be the only couple I wouldn't mind portraying romantically without them actually getting together, and that I would also enjoy writing about. (Though I'm pretty sure that trying to make everything connect to "impossible love" will still be by far the hardest part of this challenge.) This is also finally my chance to get to explore this couple, since I hadn't gotten any plot bunnies for any other kind of fic about them. A list of prompts is perfect, though.

The series title is the name of Terra & Cinderella's Finish Move in BBS.

Although preferably I'd wait until finishing _Fire & Moonlight_ or _Sweet Distortion_ before taking on a third challenge, this one has a deadline, so I figured I'd better start posting it ASAP. :p Don't worry, though. I've been trying to get this series started for two or three weeks now, and I've still been able to make good progress with the other two fics, so things should be all right for a while, at least.

Constructive criticism is welcome, I feel like there's definitely room for improvement in these first few drabbles. Terrella is still a highly experimental subject for me, and I haven't gotten the hang of it yet. Hopefully I'll get a lot better as the series progresses.

**Beginnings (Theme 1)**

Summary: Story time at the library.

A/N: Modern AU.

o.o.o

She closed the book, speaking the last words of the story in a hushed voice. "And so, ever since that day, the princess and the man she loved have walked the skies, following each other's paths for eternity. It is said that twice a year, right at dawn when their two constellations hover together, they are close enough for their eyes to meet and their hands to touch, and it is at those moments they reaffirm their love and are so able to continue their everlasting journeys with lighter hearts."

The children all stared at her with wide eyes, utterly silent. It was finally broken with a little girl's voice asked uncertainly, "The end?"

The librarian straightened up in her chair with a beautiful, rippling laugh. "It is a rather sad end, isn't it."

The children's shrill voices all seemed to break out at once. "That's not the end!"

"Did the princess and the goat-guy ever kiss?"

"I don't get it."

"What do you mean they just kept walking and walking and walking forever? You can't walk and walk and walk forever! I don't like that story! That's not happily ever after! They're supposed to get married and live happily ever after!"

"Did the evil magician ever come back?"

"If I'd been the go-bird, I'd have hit him on the head with a stick."

"It's _goatherd_, moron."

"Mom, he called me a moron!"

The librarian laughed again, raising her arms in a conciliatory gesture. "Settle down, settle down, everyone. Would you like me to read you a different story?"

"Yes!"

"NO!"

The shouted replies were quite varied in intensity, and she smiled. "How about one that has a very happy ending?" She pulled another book out of the basket by her feet, opening it to the first page and holding it up so that all the children could see. "Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there was a tiny kingdom..."

When she had finished the story (which was a much better hit with her audience than the previous one had been), she watched as the children were slowly collected by their parents and wandered back out either into the library shelves or the parking lot outside. However, one little boy stayed, scooting up close to her when there was room to do so. He gazed up at her with serious blue eyes.

"Was that a true story?"

She smiled. "Yes."

"I don't think fairy godmothers and stuff are true."

"Well, do you think that being able to achieve your dreams is true?"

He nodded.

"So do I, darling. That's a very important part of the story, and that is the part that's true."

"I guess that makes sense."

"What's your name, young man?"

"Terra. You're Miss Ellen Charming," he said, pointing at her nametag.

That made her laugh. "Mrs., actually. I'm married."

"Oh." He sat there and thought a minute. "So Mr. Charming is your Prince Charming?"

"You could certainly say that," she agreed.

"The princess in the other story isn't ever gonna be a Mrs.," he mused.

Ellen's smile grew more sober. "Probably not."

"I wonder if she dreamed about walking in the sky forever."

Ellen was silent for a little while. Then she asked, "Do you like to read, Terra?"

"No."

She blinked at him in surprise.

"I like when people read to me," he continued, which made her laugh again.

"I see. Well, I have to get back to work soon, but would you like me to read one more story first, just for you?"

His face lit up. "Yup."

She scooted the basket of books closer to him. "Go ahead and pick one out."

"I don't judge a book by its cover," he announced proudly, pulling the closet one out to open. "I look at the beginnings first. Then I decide if I want to know the rest."

"Who taught you that?" she asked curiously.

"My mom. She's in heaven." He rested a tall silver book against her knees. "Can you read this one, please?"

Her eyes were soft as she gently reached down to stroke his hair. "Of course, darling."

He settled down next to her as she opened the book and began to read. "A long time ago, in a faraway world, there was a boy who wished to be a knight..."

o.o.o

Author's Notes: I could have sworn I'd once heard some sort of fairy tale about lovers who are separated and forced to walk the skies forever, but I couldn't figure out what the title was. So I just kind of made something up based on what I could remember.

My first drabble for _Sweet Distortion_ ended up having a similar plot bunny. I guess the word "beginning" automatically makes me think of books?

Complete: 1/100


	2. Sorrow

_**Dream Waltz**_**, a Kingdom Hearts fanwork: Drabble challenge by HawkRider, written by Raberba girl**

**Sorrow (Theme 2)**

Summary: Seriously, doesn't she even notice that some spiky-haired weirdo is battling a swarm of monsters behind her?

o.o.o

A brand-new world, only the second one he had ever been to, and pretty much the first thing he saw was a crying girl.

Terra paused in the dark courtyard, taking stock of the situation. The girl was a picture of sorrow, crumpled by a bench and sobbing as if her heart had broken. She and her mysterious plight had nothing to do with Terra's mission, but it wasn't exactly like he could just walk on by without trying to help.

He approached cautiously, noting the ragged state of her clothes. "Is something wrong?" he asked gently, kneeling down so that he wouldn't tower over her.

After a long pause, during which she seemed to be trying to gather herself to speak, she finally admitted without looking up, "It's just that my friends made me the most beautiful dress, but my stepmother and stepsisters ruined it..."

_'Thank God,'_ Terra thought. He had been afraid it would be much, much worse. Still, she obviously needed comforting, and he cast about for something appropriate to say. "Darkness always finds a way into a wounded heart," was all he could come up with. _'For crying out loud, Terra, this isn't one of Master Eraqus's lectures!'_

Then it occurred to him that the sentiment might have a legitimate place in this situation. "You have to be strong," he added, since even something as seemingly trivial as a torn dress could damage a heart enough to let the darkness in, and then he'd have more monsters on his hands. "Strength of heart will carry you through the hardest of trials." _'...Definitely need more practice at making girls feel better.'_

Even though what he had said was true, he got the distinct impression that normal guys, who hadn't been raised on an isolated training ground in the middle of nowhere, would have taken a different approach. _'Aqua's last movie night choice had the girl scarfing down chocolate when her boyfriend dumped her. Maybe I should find some chocolate.'_

However, he never got the chance. There was a tell-tale whisking sound, and Terra whirled to find a group of Floods materializing behind them. "Unversed!" He summoned his weapon at once, a little relieved. Whacking bad guys with a giant key was a LOT easier than trying to make a girl stop crying.

Terra dispatched the Floods quickly, but a stronger batch of dark creatures appeared right on their heels. "Have I ever mentioned that I hate rabbits?" he growled, bringing his Keyblade down on a Hareraiser's head before it could slap him with its ears. Then he heard an ominous bouncing sound behind him, and immediately dashed out of the way before the Bruiser could send him flying. "Gah! That's it, I'm Sonic Shadowing you creeps!"

When he had finally destroyed them all, Terra surveyed the courtyard one more time, tense and sweating, then finally expelled a long sigh and dismissed his Keyblade.

She was still crying. A raging battle had just taken place behind her, and she was _still_ _crying_. She was either lacking in brain cells, which Terra doubted; too immersed in grief over her torn dress and missed party to care, which Terra found hard to believe; or - maybe she just trusted that Terra would keep her safe, trusted him so completely that she didn't even waste a thought on her own safety. That was...quite flattering.

_'Plucky girl. Of course, she has no idea how badly I messed up with Princess Aurora back in the last world. I wonder how much she'd still trust me if she knew about _that_,'_ Terra thought bitterly.

However, since Cinderella's all-knowing fairy godmother showed up a second later to set her up for a happily ever after, rather than ten minutes earlier to save her from a horde of ravaging monsters, it seemed like Cinderella wasn't the only one to show a ridiculous amount of confidence in Terra's intentions and abilities. Perhaps they really did have reason to think he was still good enough to be a hero. That's what he hoped, anyway.

o.o.o

Author's Notes: And here's a canon one for ya. Might not be a whole lot of these, since there's so few KH canon scenes with these two characters, compared to the charas I'm doing my other challenges on... Oh well, we'll see how it goes.

Complete: 2/100


	3. Fun

_**Dream Waltz**_**, a Kingdom Hearts fanwork: Drabble challenge by HawkRider, written by Raberba girl**

**Fun (Theme 3)**

Summary: Terra & Cinderella attend a costume ball together.

o.o.o

"Well, I wasn't..._planning_ to go. Why?"

_"Oh, but, Terra! It's going to be so much fun!"_

"Cindy, we're in high school, and it's not even Halloween. Are costumes even cool anymore?" He meant the kind she, the most innocent girl he had ever met in his life, would have in mind.

_"Why, does something need to be 'cool' in order to be enjoyable? Please, Terra. Come with me."_

He hesitated. If she wanted to go, of course he was in, but he knew she would take it seriously. "Cindy, I'm not exactly well-stocked in the costume department."

_"Oh, that's all right. I can come and help you put something together, if you like."_

He wouldn't put it past her. "Well...okay, but...I mean, I don't want you going to a lot of trouble or anything..."

Faster than Terra would have thought possible, she had gone through his closet, picked a black shirt and pants, dug out those boots he had only worn, like, twice since getting them for Christmas, and was now asking his mother if she had a large piece of black cloth.

"Well, just Aqua's old graduation gown. Will that do?"

"Oh, no!" Cindy exclaimed in horror. "I could never ruin something like that just to use for a costume."

Mrs. Bane laughed. "I'm sure Aqua has better things to be interested in now than that old high school thing she'll never wear again. Go on, don't worry about it."

Cindy had such an amazing smile, Terra would not have been surprised if his mom had given permission solely to be rewarded with it. "Oh, thank you! _Thank_ you!"

"What are you gonna use Aqua's gown for?" he asked.

She chuckled. "For your cape, of course. Now, go wash that gel out of your hair while I start altering this. They didn't have hair gel back in El Zorro's time, and anyway, it would be a little difficult to get a mask fastened on over those spikes of yours."

"I'm gonna be Zorro?"

"The brave, dashing defender of the innocent - it seems fitting, don't you think?" she said with a smile.

_'Girl, you're gonna knock me out with that flattery of yours.'_ "Well, it's nice that someone thinks so, anyway."

Cindy was absolutely amazing, there was just no other word for it. What girl these days knew how to _sew_, much less so quickly and skillfully? Terra would never have known the thing had once been a graduation gown after she got through with it. "Wow...this is great." Oh, come on, it definitely deserved a way better adjective than that. "It's _fantastic_."

Her eyes were lighting up, so she might not have heard. "Terra! You dyed your hair!"

"Well, Mom had this black temporary stuff lying around, we figured it would look better with the rest of the costume..."

"It looks _wonderful_! It goes just perfectly with your outfit!"

Terra rubbed the back of his head in pleased embarrassment. "Well, I'm...glad you like it. Heh." For a moment, he was absolutely transfixed by the radiant sparkle of her smile. Then she was bustling around him, fastening the cape around his shoulders and straightening his sleeves, and he was still trying to get over being dazzled and catch up to the moment.

"We're just about done," she was saying. "The gloves seem to fit perfectly, so all I need to do is find some cloth that'll do for a mask."

Terra glanced at the windows, which showed the sun beginning to set. "It's getting kind of late...you need to get your costume together, too, right? Don't girls usually take forever to get ready for stuff like this?" He heard the fully unintended insult of his words too late, but before he could backpedal, she was answering with a completely unperturbed voice and expression.

"Oh, don't worry about that, I've got everything ready and laid out. We can just drop by my house quickly for me to get dressed, and I don't even think we'll be late, much less," she paused with a slightly cheeky smile, "fashionably late."

Ohhhh, it should be a _crime_ to be that- that- dorky. And adorable. There was a word for that, but it didn't even come close to doing this girl justice.

"It's not exactly cool to be early," he managed to say, not even sure what was coming out of his mouth.

She turned back, her face now so close that he had to resist the impulse to press his lips to hers. "Terra," she murmured. Her breath whispered against him, as if she _wanted_ him to make that move. "Must everything be 'cool' in order to please you?"

He deliberately took a couple of steps back. "Anything that makes you happy would, um, please me." _'Ugh, I'm such an idiot. Even though it's true.'_

It was just like her to accept that with a straight face. "Why, Terra, that is so sweet of you!" She smiled down at the sewing supplies in her hands. "Let me just find that cloth, and we can take our leave. And don't worry about the hat, I've got one I can lend you that will be absolutely _perfect_."

"Zorro has a hat?" he said stupidly, then mentally facepalmed. He really shouldn't let himself get so dazzled that he forgot to be coherent. At least his crush was pretty much the only person he knew who could overlook that kind of stuff without even a hint of teasing.

They eventually made it to her house, where she bustled around until she found a hat for him that was indeed perfect. Then she served some things for him to drink and snack on while he waited for her to get ready, but really, it wasn't long at all before he looked up to find her descending the stairs in her own outfit.

_Breath...tak...ing._ Literally. He could not breathe, she looked so beautiful in that shimmering, silvery dress, as if she really was a princess out of a fairy tale.

She got to the bottom of the stairs. There was an awkward silence. Finally she smiled a little anxiously and twirled. "Terra, do you like my...dress?"

"It's gorgeous," he managed to whisper. Then he smiled. "You look absolutely beautiful, Cindy."

She beamed in response, making his heart seem to sing.

A thought occurred to him. "And - man _alive_, how did you get ready so fast! Do you have a fairy godmother up there helping you get dressed or something?"

She laughed. "Something like that."

_'Wait, what?'_

She held out her arm, a little shyly. "Terra...will you escort me to the carriage?"

_'Carriage?'_ "Oh, you mean the car? Sure." He winced. "Uh, that is, of course I shall, my lady." He reached out hesitantly, almost as if afraid of breaking her, yet her arm was strong and steady over his. He caught the scent of her perfume, light and refreshing. "Cindy, you are gonna knock 'em dead tonight."

And she did. As soon as they entered the school gym (fashionably late after all), which was filled with booming music and outrageously dressed dancers and bright decorations, it seemed like everyone's attention was immediately captivated by the girl on Terra's arm.

"Are they staring at us?" she whispered in surprise.

"I told you you were gonna knock 'em dead," he whispered back.

She laughed a little nervously. "Oh, Terra, don't be silly. There are plenty of lovely costumes out there, I'm sure we don't stand out too much."

_'Uh...no, sweetheart. You stand out a _lot_.'_ Amidst all the vampires and angel-winged sluts and horror movie characters and cat-girls, Cindy in her shimmering gown was like a true princess, gracing the room with her presence.

Terra was willing to bet that they'd changed the music for her sake. It had been some fast-paced, foul-lyriced, bass-pounding thing when they came in, but soon after Terra had led Cindy onto the dance floor and taken her in his arms, the noise melted away into a slow ballad.

Cindy's smile grew. "Oh, this is very nice."

"Compared to that cr_urgh_..." _'Watch your language in front of her,'_ he told himself sternly. "Um, compared to the last song, yeah. I like this better."

"You're a fine dancer, Terra," she complimented him.

"I...I mean, I'm okay, I guess..." To his relief, she didn't try to engage him in more conversation, and he was free to enjoy swaying to the music with her, gazing into her face, her sweet smile and her beautiful eyes, and just bask in these moments where it seemed like the two of them were alone together in another world.

They went through several dances before finally deciding, laughingly, that they needed a break. Terra escorted her to a seat and brought her something to drink and a plate of snacks, and the conversation was interesting enough. Then, when nothing but crumbs were left and the silence had begun to stretch on for a while, Cindy gave him a questioning glance, he wordlessly held out his hand, and she smiled and took it. Once again, they danced.

The spell was finally broken when somebody stumbled into him - and instead of an apology and return to business, the oaf yelled excitedly, "Terra!"

Terra turned around. "Ven?" he exclaimed in pleased amazement.

"Hey!" They automatically raised fists to bump together, both laughing.

"So, little guy, finally made it into high school, huh?"

"I'm only three years younger than you, of _course_ I did!" Ventus cried indignantly. "Hey, Terra, this is my girlfriend, Kairi. Tell her she's gorgeous!"

"You are very pretty indeed," Terra assured the laughing redhead in a fairy costume who stood at his friend's side.

"So are you," she responded with a wink, looking him up and down. Terra's cheeks grew a little warm and he resisted the impulse to cross his arms over his chest. Ven swept Kairi into his arms in an exaggerated show of possessive jealousy.

Terra cleared his throat. "Um, so, Ven, and, uh, Kairi, this is, um..." He shook his head. _'Stop talking like a moron!'_ "This is Cindy." He wasn't sure what possessed him to blurt out, "She's my friend." Would things have turned out differently if he had not heedlessly insisted on defining that?

"Wooowww!" Ven gaped at her for a minute. "You're really-! Wow-! I-!" Then he noticed Kairi's raised eyebrow and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Nice dress," he finally offered with an apologetic sort of smile.

Of course Cindy accepted it as graciously as if it had been the most heartfelt compliment ever. "I'm so pleased you like it. The both of you look absolutely splendid, as well! Kairi, that dress suits your figure perfectly, Ven must be delighted at the opportunity to escort such a beauty."

"Oh, stop," Kairi drawled, waving her hand in an exaggerated show of modesty, but her cheeks were pink with genuine pleasure.

"You scored pretty well, too, Terra," Ven murmured with a wink.

Terra laughed self-consciously. "It's actually because of Cindy that I'm even here at all. Before this afternoon, I wasn't even planning to come."

"Good call, Cindy!" Ven said enthusiastically, shooting her a thumbs-up.

"Hey, I think we're annoying people," Kairi pointed out, gesturing at everyone who was giving them dirty looks for standing around chatting in the middle of the dance floor. "Let's go over to the side where we can talk. And, like, actually hear ourselves over the music without having to yell."

Ventus had been Terra's friend for years before moving to a different city, and they had gradually fallen out of touch. Seeing him again, especially so unexpectedly, was one of the few things that could have distracted Terra the way it did. Both boys really did try not to leave their dates out of the loop, but the conversation inevitably kept wandering to reminiscences and inside jokes, and of course this was not exactly what the girls had come for. Terra didn't hold it against Cindy for a second when she ventured in a small, almost anxious voice, "Terra? There's...someone over there who's...alone...would you mind terribly if I invited him to dance?"

Terra was immediately contrite. "Oh, Cindy, I'm so sorry, I've been neglecting you-"

"No, no, it's perfectly all right," she assured him with sincerity. "I'm very happy that you have a chance to reunite with your dear friend. By all means, please continue, I just felt so bad about leaving you..."

"No, Cindy, really," he said firmly. "Ven and I can catch up later, you and me can go dance-"

"I know," Kairi put in, "how about _I_ dance with Cindy? Works out best for everyone, right?"

"Well..."

"Sounds good," Ven agreed before Terra could make up his mind. "Hey, I'll save you some punch and cookies for when you get all tired out."

"What, you doubt my stamina?" Kairi sniffed in mock-haughtiness, belying it the next second by planting a quick kiss on Ven's nose. "See you later!"

"Cindy, I'm sorry," Terra managed to say before he lost sight of her. She waved at him with a cheerful smile and then disappeared into the crowd. Terra sighed, glad for the chance to stay with Ven but feeling a little uneasy all the same.

"So, how's Aqua doing?" Ven asked, and Terra eventually forgot to be worried again.

He finally noticed how much time had passed when the music changed again, back to a sweet, comparatively soft waltz. Terra quickly looked up, scanning the dance floor.

There she was. Just as breathtaking as she had been the entire night, drifting in the arms of some other guy.

"He's dressed like a _prince_," Terra exclaimed under his breath. They looked unbelievably perfect together: old-fashioned, regal; a handsome prince and beautiful princess, both just as out of place in their surroundings, dancing with graceful, measured steps as they gazed into each other's eyes and smiled.

That's when Terra knew he had lost. That this guy, whoever he was, wasn't just after Cindy for her looks. The expression on his face, captivated and admiring; the respect in his eyes, the delight in his smile, the innocence of his demeanor...

"Terra, you blew it," he told himself softly.

"Who's that she's dancing with?" Ven wanted to know.

"I'll find out soon enough," Terra said heavily. He did wait until the song was over before going up to them.

"Oh! Terra, I'm so glad I found you!" she cried gladly when he approached. "Terra, this is my prince charming," she said, her tone both perfectly serious and full of joy.

"Well, let's see if I can live up to expectations, first," the other boy added with an embarrassed little laugh, though he looked appreciative all the same.

"This is my dear friend, Terra," Cindy went on, gesturing at Terra without even seeming to notice that she did not quite touch him, though her other hand remained on the arm of her charming prince the whole time.

"It really is a pleasure to meet you," the 'prince' said graciously, even bowing as elegantly as if he'd done it all his life. "I hear it's thanks to you that this lovely girl was able to attend the event with a proper escort."

Geez. He talked just like her, too, as naturally and straight-faced as if they were from the same distant world.

"Um...yeah...Cindy called and convinced me to come." Terra gave a wan smile as he half-heartedly flapped the edge of his cape. "She pretty much made my entire costume, too. Whipped it up in about fifteen seconds."

"Oh, Terra, it was easy, I'm sure you could have put together something just as good if I hadn't meddled," she laughed.

"Nope, Cindy, you're the best," Terra said firmly, still feeling a little sick at heart as he watched them together.

"I agree with him whole-heartedly, my dear," Mr. Prince murmured in genuine appreciation. "You are quite amazing."

"Goodness, perhaps I ought to limit my time with you two. All this flattery is going to go to my head!"

"Cindy, did you want some snacks?" Terra offered hopefully.

"Oh, no, thank you so much for offering! We're not tired yet, are we?"

"I could truly dance the night away with you," the prince returned.

Seriously. How _could_ any teenage guy say that without even a trace of irony or mockery or teasing? He meant it from the bottom of his heart, just like Cindy always did when she said that kind of thing. _'It's like they were made for each other,'_ Terra thought sadly.

He graciously left them to it, though apparently his moping was so obvious that even Cindy noticed it (eventually). She granted him one or two pity dances, but she was so polite, and lit up so much afterwards when he had to pass her back to her prince, that Terra finally gave up.

Close to midnight, he was sitting on a bench in the courtyard, trying to take a break from the gym's noise and heat and heartbreak, and wondering what the best way would be to convince his "date" that it was time to go home. He turned instinctively when he heard approaching footsteps and the sleek rustle of fabric - sure enough, it was them.

"Oh, Terra, I'm afraid that I've been having so much fun, I quite forgot the time," Cindy said apologetically. "They're starting to clean up in there." She smiled hopefully at him. "I was wondering...would it be all right with you if this charming young man took me home? I don't want to leave you all alone on the way back when I'm the one who made you come in the first place, but-"

"Go on," Terra said gently. "I'll be fine, don't worry."

She smiled again, brilliantly, and his heart ached. "Oh, Terra! Thank you, thank you so much!"

"I mean...it's not like you _need_ my permission or anything..." She rustled forward and graced his cheek with a light kiss, and that was the end of his ability to speak aloud.

"I'm so grateful. Good night, Terra. I really had a wonderful time!" One last smile. A polite nod from her prince that Terra barely registered. Then she was gone, the glimmer of her gown disappearing down the stairs to the parking lot, and Terra was alone again.

_'Good-bye, Cindy...'_

He shouldn't just be sitting here on his butt like this, right? If he was a real man, he'd go after her right? "Cindy-" Terra got up and ran for the stairs, but he should have known better. Made for each other, after all. Too many mistakes that he'd made before. Was it a sign that he had lost his chance?

Sparkling in the moonlight was the only trace left of his princess: a small, transparent shoe, elegantly crafted like a dancing-slipper made of glass. Terra stood there on the stairs and held it cradled to his chest for a long time.

o.o.o

Author's Notes: Out of the first five drabbles that I drafted, this theme was the defining one for me, and also the one I had the most trouble writing. Trying to get back into writing non-humorous romance was kind of freaking me out, and I got blocked on it for a little while. This drabble is also the one so far that most clearly expresses my current feelings on the Terrella pairing.

This and the next few drabbles have this unrequited love theme that started bothering me - I don't really like to read or write that sort of thing, and in this case, it was starting to get both depressing and predictable. For future drabbles, I'll try to figure out how to interpret "impossible love" in a different, lighter way.

Complete: 3/100


	4. Video

_Dream Waltz_, a Kingdom Hearts fanwork: Drabble challenge by HawkRider, written by Raberba girl

Video (Theme 4)

***ROUGH DRAFT (This is taking way too long. I'm just going to quick-edit for typos and stuff and then post these as is, rather than obsessing over editing.)**

Summary: Some of the KH cast are bored while the others are filming Dream Drop Distance.

A/N: Written in a similar vein as _Sleepover at Disney Castle_, as if the KH characters have lives offscreen as well as onscreen. Also, since 3D hasn't been released yet, I'll most likely have to make some adjustments in who and who doesn't make appearances in this drabble.

o.o.o

Terra and Aqua were sparring in the practice room when Ven suddenly came bursting in. "Hey, guys!" he called excitedly. "Xion said they found a video room in Disney Castle! We gotta go check it out!"

"Is...Is that so?" Aqua fumbled.

Terra laughed and hefted Ends of the Earth casually over his shoulder. "Might as well, Aqua. He'll just start giving us puppy eyes if we try to refuse."

Aqua sighed. "That's true."

"All right!" Ven cheered. "Trust me, you're gonna love it!"

They found Xion, Naminé, Kairi, Data-Sora, and Pluto sprawled around one of the castle's lounges, munching on snacks as a movie played on the huge screen hanging from one wall. "Where's everyone else?" Terra asked.

"Still filming for Dream Drop Distance," Ven explained. "Come on, grab some pizza, and there are sodas in that ice chest over there. What'd you pick?" he asked the girls.

"_Cinderella_," Kairi called back, waving the trio over. "We just finished _Aladdin_. Guys, this is amazing! It's, like, the _original_ worlds, the way they were supposed to be before Sora and the Organization started wandering around messing things up for them."

"I messed things up for them?" Data-Sora exclaimed in dismay, and Naminé patted his shoulder soothingly.

"What does that mean?" Aqua wondered.

"Come on, you'll see! I bet there won't even be a single Heartless or Unversed in here."

She was right. Terra felt the tension in his shoulders as he watched, waiting for Unversed to pop out of nowhere, especially when Cinderella was crying in the garden and then when she was trying to get into the palace...

Nothing! Not a single one! Not a trace of Terra, Ven, or Aqua's help or presence, either.

"Did she not even need me?" Terra wondered bleakly. It was almost anticlimactic. "It's like the worst she ever had to worry about were housework, bullying, and clock chimes."

"Nothing bad is happening to that terrible stepfamily of hers, either," Aqua said indignantly.

Ven sighed. "All my hard work, and the mice get all the credit."

"I bet they sew better than you and Jaq, though," Kairi laughed.

Ven smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, they do."

Then Cinderella ended up with her prince, married happily ever after, and "Ohhhh!" Terra realized, his eyes widening. "No wonder! That...connection I felt...the way I was drawn to her...when I thought - hoped - she might pick me over some rich guy she'd never seen before in her life..." He sighed. "No wonder she chose Prince Charming."

"Can't really fight fate," Aqua said sympathetically, patting his shoulder.

Ven snorted. "I'll say. I swear, if I'm still locked up in that stupid Dive again after 3D, some people at Square Enix _will_ be having a Keyblade to answer to..."

o.o.o

Author's Notes: Um...it worked out better in my head. -.-

Complete: 4/100


	5. Blood

_Dream Waltz_, a Kingdom Hearts fanwork: Drabble challenge by HawkRider, written by Raberba girl

Blood (Theme 5)

***ROUGH DRAFT**

Summary: Sometimes your lab partner can be more dangerous than the equipment.

A/N: School AU.

o.o.o

He thought she might have screamed or something if it had just been a little cut. Even if merely from surprise, she probably would have at least gasped. But when he turned back and saw her clutching her hand with blood streaming down her arm, looking too shocked and wide-eyed to make a sound, Terra knew something was seriously wrong. "Cindy!"

On her other side, their other lab partner was backing away in guilty-faced horror, arms raised as if in a declaration of innocence. The pose was probably not in her best interest, since it plainly displayed the razor-sharp scalpel she held.

Cindy had been the one to pick it up earlier.

"Did you _grab_ it out of her _hand_?" Terra demanded incredulously.

"I just wanted to _see_ it! Geez, if she hadn't been holding on so tight..."

The other students were beginning to notice, exclaiming and babbling in horrified fascination.

Terra seized someone's scarf from a nearby table and wadded it up, gingerly laying and then pressing it against Cindy's injured palm. "Hey, Cindy, it's gonna be okay, just - just breathe, all right? Take a deep breath, like this-"

Her face now chalk-white, she tried to draw in a shaky breath.

"Breathe, Cindy!"

The professor came over, making distressed noises. "How in the world did this happen?"

"Sir, I'm taking her to the medic's station," Terra said quickly, drawing Cindy close and protectively tucking his arm over her shoulders.

"Yes, of course. You!" He whirled to the girl with the scalpel. "Explain!"

Terra steered Cindy outside, listening to her pained attempts to breathe. "In and out, Cindy."

"It hurts," she finally managed.

"I know, we'll be at the medic's soon, just hold on..."

Someone in a white uniform hurried past them, speaking urgently into a cell phone. Terra did not even register this until a minute later, and when he whipped his head back to look, the person they had passed was gone. He got a sudden bad feeling, but Cindy did not seem to have noticed anything at all.

Just as Terra had feared, the office was empty when they got there.

"Where is everyone?" Cindy murmured faintly.

"I...um...I'm sure they just went to grab a snack or something, they'll be back soon," Terra fumbled. "Here, sit down by the sink, I'm gonna see if I can find..."

She had revived her spirits enough to be able to try to wash off the blood as Terra went rummaging through cabinets and drawers. "Are you sure that's all right to do?" she asked worriedly.

"This is an emergency, right? It's not like I'm stealing anything, that's what this stuff is _here_ for." He came over with some bandages and several jars of antibacterial goop. "Okay, so I'm thinking this one's probably what we want, it says 'For burns and skin abrasions' on the label, so-"

"Will you please hand me the alcohol first, and some cotton swabs?" she asked.

He obeyed, grimacing. "That...seems like it'd hurt a lot..."

She gave him a brave smile. "Don't worry, it won't hurt nearly as much if I do it myself."

It did though. Terra felt his heart twisting inside his chest as he watched every wince and pucker cross her face, though her soft little gasps sounded more soothing than pained, like she was comforting herself. He reached in to help as soon as she gestured at him, wrapping the bandage firmly around her hand as she guided the roll around.

At last, they were both able to inspect their handiwork, a misshapen white lump at the end of her arm with a few pink fingertips sticking out at the ends.

"Do you think that will do?" she murmured. There was actually a hint of amusement in her voice.

"It looks like it's stopped bleeding, anyway. I'm sure you'll be okay."

"Yes, no matter how bad things get, everything always turns out well in the end," she said. "I ought to wait for the medic to return, though. She - or he - will probably have better instructions."

"Yeah. I probably...should clean all this up, huh..."

As Terra was stacking jars and bags and rolls back into cabinets and hoping he was remembering correctly where everything had come from, someone burst into the clinic. Terra turned around quickly, his mouth open with a stream of explanations, but then he realized that the newcomer was not a staff member.

"Cynthia!" The polished young man rushed forward in concern, reaching out for her. "Sweetheart, are you all right? Someone told me you'd been injured."

"Oh! No need to fret, darling, I'm all right," she said, so warmly that Terra spun back around again, his face strangely hot. Her boyfriend. That guy was her boyfriend. Terra no longer cared whether he was getting all the supplies in their correct places or not.

"But your hand - it looks awful!"

"That's only because of all the bandaging," she said soothingly. "Really, it looks much worse than it actually is." She shifted so she could smile at Terra. "Terra was very kind and helped me."

"Is that so?" her boyfriend said, holding out his hand with a bright smile. "I owe you my thanks, then...Terra, was it?"

"Yeah," Terra said brusquely, giving his hand a brief shake. "Well, looks like things are under control here. I'd better go."

"Oh, Terra, there's no need-"

"See you around, Cindy." Terra nodded to them and walked out. "It's not like anything's changed," he told himself. "You'll still see her in class, she likes you, he likes you. If anything, you'll get to see her more often now that you're on her radar."

Still. It wasn't the same.

o.o.o

Author's Notes: Like I said, this couple is still very experimental for me, I'm not comfortable writing them yet. I'm trying to push past the perfectionism and just keep at it so that I eventually _can_ start turning out Terrella stuff I'm happy with.

And again, the unrequited love is starting to depress me, so I'm going to attempt some different interpretations later on.

Complete: 5/100


	6. Phone

_Dream Waltz_, a Kingdom Hearts fanwork: Drabble challenge by HawkRider, written by Raberba girl

Phone (Theme 6)

***ROUGH DRAFT**

Summary: Cinderella is kind to all, whether they be time-travelers from centuries in the future or stranded intergalactic colonists.

A/N: Takes place before the movie. Also, "dinner" is what they used to call lunch, and "supper" was the evening meal. And I'm assuming that when the Fairy Godmother spruced her up for the ball, she also got rid of calluses and buff wood-chopping muscles and stuff...?

o.o.o

Sunrise was so early in the summer... Cinderella appreciated her friends more than ever. Without them to tease her out of bed and bring her bathing water and ready her clothes, she would surely give in to the temptation to sleep in far too late. She had no doubt that they had saved her from many a scolding by her stepmother.

"Good morning, Lucifer," she greeted. As usual, the cat merely gave her an arrogant look and tried to be obnoxious, but Cinderella had long ago stopped putting up with his nonsense. "Come along, now, it's time for breakfast."

When she opened the kitchen door, she found Bruno sprawled on his back, happily having his tummy rubbed by the vagrant boy.

"Why, good morning, Terra!" Cinderella exclaimed.

"Hi, Cindy," he greeted her with that lovely snow-white smile of his.

"Goodness, I don't believe I've yet seen you up and about at this hour!"

"Well, it's kind of hard to sleep in when you've been living in a barn for a week... Speaking of which, you got a razor I could borrow, and some more soap? This hobo-beard just isn't doing it for me."

He had such a strange manner of speaking sometimes, but at least he was both good-hearted and remarkably fastidious for a vagrant. "Of course. Here, let me fetch them for you."

It almost made her laugh, stealing glances at him as she milked the cow and seeing how much he was struggling with the razor. It was like he was not used to shaving, and yet he had first appeared at the manor a few days ago with his face almost as smooth and hairless as a woman's. In so many ways, Terra was a puzzle.

"I've wrapped up some food for you in the napkin on the ledge," she said as she passed by with the milk.

"Okay, cool. You want me to start chopping wood again after that?"

"Oh, but, your blisters," she said uncertainly.

"Nah, don't worry about it. I'm gonna try out those new gloves you made me, I'm sure it'll be a lot easier with those."

Another puzzle, how he could be so strong and yet have such soft, easily-abused hands. Whatever he had been before coming here, he'd certainly not been an ordinary laborer.

"Well...all right, but tell me if your palms start bleeding again."

It was around midmorning, while Cinderella was sweeping the front hall, when Terra came bursting in from a side hallway. "Cindy!" he cried wildly. "Cindy!"

"Oh!" she exclaimed in dismay. "Oh my, Terra, you mustn't let my stepfamily see you in the house! Quickly, I'll let you out the front door, but if they happen to be looking out the windows-"

"Cindy! Oh my _gosh_, you're gonna think I'm crazy, but I swear it's true, I was in the barn trying to stack those hay bales, and I saw these mice and I was trying to-" He suddenly paused. "Wait, all you girls back then - now, whatever - used to be - _are_ - scared of mice, right?"

Cinderella was instantly alarmed. "Oh, no - Terra, you didn't hurt one of the mice, did you?"

"They _talk_!" he burst out eagerly. "I swear to you, Cindy, _they talk_! Look!" He held his cupped hands up to his face, peering into them. "Okay, little guy, don't make me look like an idiot, all right? Go ahead and say something, anything."

Cinderella hurried over and cradled Terra's hands in hers, allowing the small terrified creature to tumble into her own grasp. "Oh, poor Harold... It's all right. You're perfectly safe."

The mouse peeked up at her under one arm. Then he leaped to his feet, squeaking, "Cinderelly! Cinderelly!"

"SEE!" Terra roared, pointing triumphantly.

"Hush, hush, hush! Terra, I've got to let you out at once, if my stepfamily sees you in here..."

"But- but, the talking mouse," Terra protested, almost pleadingly. "Is that a normal thing around here or something?"

She managed to shoo everyone out, just as her stepmother came downstairs. "Cinderella, what on earth is all the commotion down here?"

o.o.o.o.o

Ever since that mishap with his uncle's time machine, Terra had been stuck here centuries away from home, waiting for his past self to come rescue him with the special device his future self was going to give him, or had already given him, or whatever (long story).

To pass the time, and, you know, survive, he had found a manor where the servant-girl hadn't automatically run him off. He did chores around the place in exchange for some meals, the loan of a blanket, and permission to sleep in the barn at nights. He was pretty sure the poor girl wouldn't have been allowed to help him if her evil-sounding stepfamily was aware of the arrangement, but today, he hadn't even paused to think before barging in where anyone might see him. Freaking talking mice, how could he _not_ rush off to tell the first person he thought of?

"So," he said. He was sitting in the barn, work forgotten, facing the row of small creatures who were all gazing at him with eyes far too intelligent for normal animals. "You're from another planet, and you left to find a new world to explore for potential colonization, but your ship was damaged in the landing thirty years ago and now you can't leave or send any messages back home?"

"Backwards world," Jaq confirmed heavily. "No fuel, live like savages! Cinderelly only one act human, we in big trouble without her."

"I can...kind of start to see that," Terra mused, noting how small they were and remembering how most people reacted to mice, at least, with hostility. The birds were probably better off, but-

He frowned. "Wait a minute. If you're all aliens, how come you all look like normal mice and birds? I mean, well, without the clothes- Oh, whatever. You know what I mean."

The looked rather confused, actually, but then Sally piped up, "We shapeshifters. Go to each world, look like different people there."

"So you just took on the forms of mice and birds? What do you really look like, then?" Terra asked interestedly.

There was some agitated, whispered conversation and argument. Then Edward stepped up, bowed, and turned into-

"WAH!" Terra screeched. "Okay okay okay, great, I get it, thanks! Thanks a lot, thank you very much, you can change back now!" He shivered. "Eeeee..." Not that the creature's true form was ugly, exactly, or frightening, just...strange. Very, very, very, very, very strange. "Urgh. Okay. Um...brain bleach...yeah, okay, I'm okay..."

"You want mind-wipe?" Sally offered.

"Eep, no! No, um, that's okay, I'm good, thanks." Terra drew in and then released a very deep breath. "Okay. So. Aliens. Came here. Turned into animals."

"Where you from?" Jaq asked curiously. "Cinderelly nice nice _nice_, we love-a her, but she no understand. You sit, listen, get it like _that_!" He snapped his fingers appreciatively.

"Um...well, I'm from the future," Terra confessed. It was a relief to be able to tell someone, actually. "My uncle made this time machine, and I kind of did something dumb and ended up-" He paused. "...Ended up stranded here, just like you," he murmured with an ironic little smile.

"Aaaahhhh!" The creatures swarmed around him, patting him with their tiny paws or fluttering their soft wings against his skin comfortingly.

Terra laughed. "Don't worry, I'll be okay. Like, I know that my past self is eventually gonna show up to rescue me, I'm just not sure exactly when. You guys, though... So you've just been hanging out here, doing...what, for thirty years?"

There were various shrugs. "Make families, now help Cinderelly," Jaq explained. "Nothing else to do."

"Make colony," Harold pointed out. "Just earlier than we think, that's all."

"Not right!" Henrietta insisted in a huffy squeak. "Collect data, data data and more data, but nowhere to send it! Selfish to have this place all ours."

"This pretty world," Harold agreed, though he looked more content than angry.

"Pretty world with monsters all over," someone else grumbled.

"Hm," Terra mused, "the guys back on your home planet aren't planning to invade and take over or anything, are they?"

There was a chorus of indignant squeaking and chirping. "We no do that!"

"We shapeshifters!"

"Blend in!"

"Peace, happy!"

"Okay, okay, I believe you," he laughed.

"Not everyone happy," Jaq pointed out. The tumult died down, and everyone seemed sad. "Old folks homesick. No like it here. Hard for them be mice, birds; wanna go home an' be free."

"The older folks?" Terra said curiously.

"We show! You meet!"

Terra was introduced to some elderly-looking creatures, mice with graying, scraggly fur, filmy eyes, and drooping jaws. Feeling sorry for them, he used his most respectful tone when greeting them, careful not to touch them since he'd learned by now that the mice didn't like the feel of human flesh against their fur. "It's an honor to meet you."

Some of the creatures glared and turned away, not listening when the younger ones insisted, "Terra nice! Not like other monsters!"

One female, however, reached out a paw trembling with age and gently touched Terra's finger. "You good boy," she said in a whisper. "Good boy. Be kind to my people."

"I will," Terra said softly.

"Here, Gramma," Jaq said affectionately, handing her a bundle, "found this for you."

"She's your grandmother?" Terra asked curiously as the elderly mouse slowly opened the package of scrounged treats and carefully began to nibble on them.

"Only family," Jaq confessed. "Others lost, fall in traps, eaten..." He shrugged, seeming matter-of-fact, but his whiskers were drooping.

Terra swallowed. "It really is a hard life for mice here." He scratched the back of his head uneasily. "Is there...anything I can do for you guys?"

"Not kill us, is good," someone said, and Terra wasn't sure what to make of it when they all burst into bitter laughter.

o.o.o.o.o

After serving dinner to her stepfamily, Cinderella put together something for Terra and her smaller friends. When she went to bring it out to them, she found Terra going about the chores looking quite at home with several mice perched on his broad shoulders, and a bird or two alighting briefly atop his head before his movements sent them fluttering away again. "So you've made friends with each other?" she said with a smile, quite delighted that they all seemed to be getting along so well.

Terra turned to her, his face alight. "Cindy! Did you know these guys are aliens?"

She frowned in puzzlement. "What do you mean by that? As far as I know, they've lived here their whole lives."

"No way! They were just telling me, they crash-landed here thirty years ago from another _planet_, it's so cool!"

She gave him a blank look. "Pardon?"

"You know. Aliens. From another planet. Crash-landing on Earth. Extraterrestrials, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, 'E.T. phone home'?"

"I think you've been working too hard in the sun for too long," she chuckled, handing over his share of the meal.

"No! Man, I always end up looking crazy here," Terra sighed, gratefully accepting the food and finding a place to sit down to eat it. "Thanks for lunch, Cindy, I'm starving."

She appreciated his unfailing politeness, since she could always tell from his face that he never enjoyed the taste for some reason, even when she tried to slip in some treats. She wondered what sort of things he was used to eating wherever he was from. "You're welcome. How are your hands?"

"Oh...good! They're good, those gloves are working out great."

"Let me see," she said curiously, reaching out, then wilted a little inside when he immediately recoiled. Sometimes he was _too_ polite.

"No- Uh, well, I'm fine, really. Really, Cindy, you're so amazing and thoughtful, it's really been a lot easier doing chores and stuff-"

She rose up so that she was taller than him for once. "Show me," she said sternly.

His face actually colored. If she hadn't been so concerned for him, she would have found it a bit sweet. "Really," he murmured as he stopped resisting her, "I'm fine..."

"I don't think so," she said quietly, holding his hands gently in hers as she inspected the reddened and torn palms. No fresh blood, at least, but the flesh was far from toughening sufficiently to handle the work. "No more axe-swinging for you, all right?"

"No! Cindy, really, I want to help-"

"Terra," she said gently, even as her hands curled a little tighter than they should over the abused flesh. She didn't let on that it was intentional, but it was a warning nonetheless. He winced a little. "I've cut this manor's wood for years, I can certainly continue to do so."

"But-"

"I don't like to watch you hurt yourself for my sake."

"It's really not that big a deal," he grumbled. "I wanna earn my keep...and protect my manly pride and all that..."

She lightly kissed his hands before releasing them, which made him seem to go suddenly silent. "Terra," she said, smiling a little again as she tried and failed not to run her eyes over his broad shoulders and much-too-form-fitting shirt, "trust me, no one is ever going to think you have a lack of manly pride." There was a muffled chorus of giggles from the mice.

"Um...okay."

A silence stretched out, which she found comfortable but he found awkward. Terra finally started digging through his pockets. "Hey...I've got something I've been saving, but I think we'd better eat it before it gets lost or gross or something."

She frowned slightly in puzzlement. "You have something to eat?"

"Just candy," he said, carefully peeling the bright wrapping off of a misshapen brown lump that looked far from edible.

"THERE!" about ten mice shrieked at the same time. The tiny creatures seemed suddenly wildly animated for some reason.

"Tha's it! Where smell comin' from!"

"WAS Terra! _Told you!_"

"He has it! He really have it? There it is! That it, yes? YES?"

"Not imagine after all!"

Cinderella and Terra stared at the mice like they'd all gone insane. Terra now had his hands protectively cupped around the chocolate bar, as several birds fluttered wildly about, occasionally landing briefly on his fingers and sometimes even accidentally (he hoped) drawing spots of blood with beaks or talons. "Guys...guys, calm down, I'll try to divide it up among everyone...it's just that there's not very much, and-"

"WHERE YOU GET THAT?" Sally shouted at him, her eyes flaming with excitement.

"Uh...from the future?"

"Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!"

"Perfect!"

"Aaaahhhhh!"

Some of them were dancing now.

"I'm sorry for driving your friends crazy," Terra apologized dryly to Cinderella.

"They've never acted like this before," she said in helpless puzzlement.

"Give!" the creatures were now chirping desperately at Terra. "Give, please give!"

"Please!"

"Give give give give give!"

"Pleeeeaaaaassseeeee!"

Terra hesitated. Then he said, "Well, all right, if it's so important to you..." He uncurled his fingers, expecting the mice or birds to immediately snatch the chocolate out of his hands and devour it. Instead, they lifted it out with great care, bearing it along almost reverently. Everyone was cheering as if their favorite sports team had just beaten its ultimate rival.

"YAAAAAAYYYYYYYY!"

"WE GOIN' HOME!"

Terra and Cinderella stared. "Home?"

Who would have guessed that 21st century Earth chocolate would work as fuel for the alien mice's spaceship.

o.o.o.o.o

Three days later, the repairs to the ship were nearly complete. While many of the other mice and birds seemed to grow increasingly ecstatic, some of them acted more restless and distracted than the others, as if not entirely happy with the situation. Terra noticed that Jaq in particular seemed strangely glum.

"Hey, little guy," he whispered one night. As usual, he was wrapped up in that old blanket in the barn, but could not sleep. Jaq had crept up and was curled close to his neck.

"Oh...you awake?" Jaq said dully.

"Yeah. What's up, man? Randomly felt like hanging out with a huge person or something?"

"..."

"..."

"Home is good place," Jaq finally said.

"I'm sure it is."

"...Wanna go back."

"Yeah."

"...SHOULD wanna go back."

Terra paused. Then he shifted, rolling onto his stomach and propping his chin on his arms. "You want to stay?"

"Not only one," he said in a low voice. "Not everyone wanna go Home. Like it here. 'Specially young 'uns... Born here, never been Home, love Cinderelly, wanna stay."

"So why don't you?" Terra suggested.

Jaq squirmed uncomfortably. "Thinkin' 'bout it. Others not happy, but...I think some of us stay."

"..."

"..."

"So I take it that your problem in particular's a little different."

For the first time that night, Jaq met his eyes, glancing at him sharply. "You know?"

"Nope. Talk to me."

Looking uncomfortable, Jaq climbed up on top of Terra's head, out of his sight. "Don't wanna leave Cinderelly."

"Don't blame you," Terra chuckled. "She's a nice girl."

"...Never wanna leave her, ever. Always wanna help her. Always."

"..." Terra was starting to get the idea. "That'd be...kinda hard to work out, wouldn't it? I mean, she's a human, you're a mouse..."

"Not a mouse," Jaq whispered. "Can change. If try. Really hard...really really really really hard... Can do it for Cinderelly."

"...I see," Terra said softly. "You think she'd like that?"

"...Dunno," Jaq whispered, sounding like he was about to cry.

"Could you change back if, um, it doesn't work?"

"No. Prob'ly. Too hard already. Been mouse too long, too young, forget Home ways..." Jaq took a deep breath into his tiny lungs. "Still wanna try. Not yet. Soon."

"...Well, I'm...I'm rooting for ya, buddy." _'Of course I am,'_ Terra told himself sternly. _'Seriously, he's got more of a chance than me - at least he can shape-shift. Not like I can exactly live in the Pre Cell Phone Era the rest of my life.'_ Could he? It hadn't been so bad, had it? Actually, Cinderella's kindness and all these interesting developments of the last few days were the only things that made it bearable, but...

_"Can do it for Cinderelly."_

_'Just stop,'_ Terra told himself firmly. _'Even if you _wanted_ to stay here, which you don't, you can't, anyway. You already know what happens, you can't change the past. The other Terras'll show up and 'rescue' you and that'll be it. Root for Jaq, Terra. Do it.'_ "I mean, she already likes you, right? I don't think she's the kind of girl who'd reject you because of your looks, or where you came from."

"Yeah," Jaq said gratefully. "Thanks, Terra."

"You can do it, man. It'll work out."

o.o.o.o.o

Cinderella seemed...preoccupied. She was missing that spring in her step, the sparkle in her eyes. She hadn't hummed all morning. Noticing her standing there with the broom in her hand, just standing, Terra went through the open door into the kitchen and lightly touched her shoulder. "Hey."

She blinked, then smiled up at him as if waking from a dream. "Oh...hello, Terra."

"You looked like you were kind of spacing out."

"Mm..." She looked down at her hands, clasped around the broom handle. "They...they're not..." She hesitated. "I don't know what to..."

"I'm here, Cindy," he said gently. "I'm listening. Take your time."

Slowly, she sank into a chair. There was a long silence, and then she finally said, "I'll miss them so much."

"The mice?"

Her beautiful blue eyes met his again. "They're my friends, Terra," she said earnestly. "They always have been, ever since I was a little girl. Ever since-" She swallowed. "Ever since I...lost Father," she said with difficulty. "They've been so kind and loyal to me, I can't...I almost can't bear the thought of losing...them..."

"Cindy-"

"It's too selfish of me!" she burst out. "I should be _happy_ for them! All this time, I had no idea they were in exile, that they were unhappy. And now they finally have a chance to return to the place they belong, and all I can think of is how much...how much I..."

It felt like the most natural thing in the world to take her hand, and she let it rest there in both of his. "For what it's worth, I don't think all of them want to leave."

She gazed at him silently, hope and fear hovering in her eyes.

"...You know...Jaq likes you an awful lot."

"Dear Jaq," she whispered. "I...I try not to have favorites, but..." It was difficult to hear her next words, they were so trembling and soft. "I think he's the one I will miss the most."

Terra made himself say it. "You should tell him that."

She gave him an unsteady smile. "I shouldn't. I don't want to make him waver."

"No, Cindy. You should tell him. He'll be glad to hear it."

"Mm..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...Wait, you mean right now?"

o.o.o.o.o

The mice and birds were arguing amongst themselves. As soon as Terra and Cinderella stepped into the barn, they were swarmed by demands for support.

"Cinderelly, tell 'em they bein' silly!"

"Cindrellyyyyy, gonna miss you!"

"Terra, you the one lettin' us go Home in first place, right? Tell 'em they bein' stupid!"

"Oh dear, now, everybody wait just a moment, what seems to be the trouble?" As Cinderella knelt in concern and tried to figure out what was going on, Terra made his way over to where Jaq was sitting with his grandmother on a ledge.

"Hey, Jaq."

The mouse's smile did not quite reach his eyes. "Hi, Terra."

"Hello, Grandma," Terra said with a polite nod.

She raised her head slowly, studying him. "Terra..."

"Jaq told me that not everyone's happy about leaving."

"Mm...beautiful world, this," the elderly mouse murmured. "Younger ones not miss Home like we do."

After a long pause, Terra glanced questioningly at Jaq.

"Me and Gramma sayin' bye," Jaq confirmed.

"Oh," Terra said sympathetically. "So you told her everything?"

She patted her grandson's head. "Hard choice, Jaq makin'."

"Gotta try," Jaq said firmly.

"You are light of my eyes," she went on affectionately. "Gonna miss you so much."

"Miss you lots, too, Gramma," Jaq returned.

"Wish there was something I could do," Terra grumbled.

Her eyes were warm as she looked at him. "You done so much, Terra. You a good boy."

"You said that last time, too," Terra chuckled. "So what do I have to do to be a good man?"

It took a while, but eventually the younger, "pro-Cinderelly" faction got their way. The birds and mice choosing to stay swarmed affectionately around Cinderella, promising her their friendship forever. Her tears of relief and happiness almost seemed to sparkle - Terra had to actually resist the impulse to touch them. Somehow, with Cinderella practically glowing, the older creatures calmed down and seemed to be able to "abandon" (as they described it) their companions with more goodwill.

"We'll miss you all so much," Cinderella told them.

"Miss you too, Cinderelly," they replied sincerely.

There was a celebration of sorts that night - Terra called it a "going away party," which Cinderella thought to be an appropriate description. She offered as much corn as could be spared, which was enjoyed with much appreciation as the last that those departing would ever be able to taste. For the most part, it was an enjoyable evening, but the somber undercurrent was felt and had grown by the next morning.

"I hope my stepfamily doesn't decide to wake early this morning," Cinderella murmured.

"Don't worry," Terra assured her. "If they do, I'LL bring 'em breakfast. You stay."

She smiled, both at the absurdity of his offer and from how touched she was that at least his sentiment seemed to be in earnest.

Final farewells were bid, tears were shed. Terra cupped his hand supportively around the little creature perched on his shoulder as Jaq held onto the last sight of his grandmother for as long as possible.

They all watched until the ship could no longer be seen. There was a white streak across the morning sky like a cloud, but it would soon fade.

Cinderella finally glanced around at all her loyal friends. "Would anybody like breakfast now?"

"Ooh, me, me!"

"Me!"

"We love you, Cinderelly!"

Terra watched them, smiling a little. Jaq, still on his shoulder, echoed the others softly. "Love you, Cinderelly."

_'Me, too,'_ Terra thought.

Cinderella laughed. "I see that the vote is unanimous. Let's see what we can do about that."

o.o.o

Author's Notes: Man, the Terrella in this one was supposed to be platonic. Stupid Terra, quit falling for her when you can't have her, or I'ma make you guys siblings. *pout*

I have the most _ridiculous_ ideas sometimes. With so many of these challenge themes, I end up going with what I first think of when I hear the prompt; in this case, "E.T. phone home." I originally meant to basically write Terra & Cinderella into one of the scenes from that movie, but it wasn't quite satisfactory as far as either interest or tie-in to the "impossible love" theme. Then it occurred to me that Cinderella's little buddies - like the animals in almost every other Disney movie - are amazingly sentient, it wouldn't be a huge leap at all (at least for me) to theorize that they might be aliens in disguise as Earth creatures. So...yeah.

Complete: 6/100


	7. Save

_Dream Waltz_, a Kingdom Hearts fanwork: Drabble challenge by HawkRider, written by Raberba girl

Save (Theme 9)

***ROUGH DRAFT**

Summary: Terra and Ventus have different gaming styles. Or maybe there's something else going on.

A/N: I imagine that the characters have lives offscreen when they're done filming for the games.

o.o.o

Terra was lounging on a bench in the Land of Departure's courtyard, playing _Birth by Sleep_ with Ven practically draped over his shoulder as he watched.

"Bruiser's coming."

"Yeah, I hear it."

"Ooh, get those Hareraisers before they-"

"I'm on it."

"Try a Sonic Shadow, Terra."

"I don't really need to, I've got it covered."

"But it looks cool! Oooh, no, wait, your D-gauge is full again, D-Link with me!"

Terra sighed and complied.

"Hah! Yeah, take that! Whoo!"

"Ven, it's a little distracting when you're yelling in my ear..."

"Oops! Sorry, Terra."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...It's easier to hit the flying pots when you lock o-"

"I know how to play the game, Ven!"

"Okay! Sorry, sheesh."

A cutscene came right after that which Ven fully expected Terra to skip through, but to his surprise, the scene played right on. _"But sometimes just believing in dreams is easier said than done..."_

"C'mon, Terra, we've seen all these a billion times. We _lived_ through them, remember?"

"Mm."

"..."

_"Go. And when you see her dancing, you'll know that she believes-"_

"Terra?"

Terra suddenly paused the scene and swung his legs over the bench so that they were face to face. "Ven," she said, calmly but firmly, "either let me enjoy playing this game in peace, or go hang out with Aqua or the others. I mean it."

"Okay, fine! I just don't get it..." He expected Terra to explain, but his friend merely turned back around and resumed the cutscene. _"-and that will help you to believe, too."_

The Terra in the game jogged across the castle courtyard, fighting Unversed as he went. The real Terra didn't skip over the next cutscene, either. _"Please, may I go with you? I so want to get to the ball."_

"I hate these 'protect the damsel' missions," Ven grumbled. "Snow White Game Overed me _so many times_, I don't know _how_ I managed to get it done in one try for real-" He paused. "Unless maybe the real time was like a game, too?" He shivered. "Terra, what if there's someone playing _us_ like we play the avatars, and every time they mess up, we die and float in darkness forever and some other version of us has to keep playing, over and over and over again-?"

"Ven, can you please be quiet?"

Ven pressed both hands over his own mouth as the HP alarm started blaring.

_"Aaaaggghhh!"_ game Terra screamed.

Ven stared at the unconscious floating body on the screen in horror. "Terra! Terra, I'm so, _so sorry_! I promise I'll be quiet!"

"It's fine," Terra mumbled.

"Are you gonna load a save file or retry the mission?" Ven asked in a small voice.

Terra wordlessly selected the 'Retry' option.

Ven was much more subdued as he watched the game Terra escort Cinderella down the castle entrance hall, defending her from hordes of Unversed. He let out a quiet sigh of relief when they reached the doors, successfully completing the mission. "Oh, good."

_"Thank you, Terra,"_ Cinderella said warmly on the screen.

"She's really pretty, isn't she," Terra said softly.

"Huh?" Ven stared at the virtual girl in the shimmering silvery dress. "Yeah, I guess so. I mean, they're all pretty." He frowned. "Come to think of it, _we're_ all pretty, except, like, Master Xehanort. And Vexen. Aladdin told me the other day that I look like a girl. And you know what, I think he's right, I was looking at all those cosplay photos Tron found, and the girls who dress up like Roxas look more like him than the guys do, and he looks just like me so I was thinking-"

_"Aaaaggghhh!"_

Ven shot to his feet in shock. "I made you die again? Terra I'm so sorry I'm so sorry I'm so sor-!"

"It's fine."

Ven gaped. "Terra, why didn't you pick 'Continue'? The last time you saved was in the Lanes Between!"

"It's fine," Terra repeated.

"But you'll have to play the _entire world_ all over again!"

Pause. Glare.

Ven clapped his hands over his own mouth again.

_"Is something wrong?"_

_"It's just that my friends made me the most beautiful dress..."_

"You know," Ven whispered cautiously, "you can skip through all the cutscenes, because we just watched them-"

"Ven, the next time you open your mouth, I'll sit on you."

"Sorry!"

Fairy Godmother, escort-the-damsel, ballroom dancing, boss crashes the party, game Terra heads off to face it-

_"Aaaaggghhh!"_

"What?" Ven cried. "But I was good this time!"

Continue

Retry

**[Load Game]**

"Terra!"

Terra didn't skip over a single one of the cutscenes this time, either. Bored, Ven tossed his Keyblade into Glider form and whooshed around the courtyard, trying tout some of the new moves he and Roxas and Sora had experimented with earlier. When he came back, the game Terra was running down the staircase outside the ballroom.

"Finally." Ven dismissed his Keyblade and draped back over Terra's shoulder again to watch.

_"Aaaaggghhh!"_

"Are you doing this on purpose?" Ven shrieked.

Continue

Retry

**[Load Game]**

"TERRA!"

o.o.o

Author's Notes: This one's my second-favorite so far (after "Beginnings"). Though I think it was more fun to write than it is to read, I dunno.

Complete: 7/100


	8. Junk

_**Dream Waltz**_**, a Kingdom Hearts fanwork: Drabble challenge by HawkRider, written by Raberba girl**

**Junk**** (Theme ****64) [rough draft]**

_For the Spring Cleaning Contest by the MidnightDreamers group on DeviantArt._

A/N: Um...ended up as more Cindy/Ven/Terra/Aqua than I expected...I hope it's still Terrella enough to qualify. DX

o.o.o

There he was again, the boy with the funny hair Cinderella always longed to comb. He saw her and his eyes lit up - so he remembered her, too. He came hurrying over, looking so proud and cute in his new uniform. "Hi!"

"Hello again," she said happily.

"You're Cinderella, right?"

"Why, yes, but I'm afraid I didn't catch your name the other day."

"I'm Ventus," he said proudly, "of the House of Eraqus."

"I can tell," she laughed. "You look quite smart in that outfit. So they did officially apprentice you?"

"Yup! Now I serve Master Eraqus's son directly, and they've been letting me on the training grounds. I love it!"

"I'm glad you still have time to pursue duties among us commoners," she said warmly. She had to clasp her hands very firmly together, it was so tempting to reach out and pat down those wild spikes of hair.

"Yeah, I still do shopping duty sometimes," Ventus said sheepishly. "The girls ask me and it's...kind of hard to tell them no..."

So cuuuute. "Well, whatever the reason, it's certainly good to see you again, Ventus."

"Heh, call me Ven. Everyone does."

A suitable nickname for such a sweet young man. "Very well, Ven. So what does your cook have in mind for supper today?"

She loaded him up with all the best of what he chose. He looked so funny in his apprentice's uniform but with a housemaid's shopping basket over one arm... "Thanks, Cinderella! Hopefully I'll get to see you again. The last time Cook made a meal out of the stuff you sold me, the masters loved it so much they gave him a raise. It was really thanks to you, though. I wish I could somehow give the money to you instead."

"Oh, Ven, I don't need money," she murmured affectionately. Oops - her hand was reaching out without her even thinking about it, but she managed to stroke his cheek at the last minute rather than going for his hair as she'd originally intended. "There are many things I'd much rather have." Like to be loved by another human being, cherished in a way she hadn't been since her father had died. Or two or three extra arms, that would definitely come in handy sometimes. Or the chance to sleep a couple of hours past sunrise every so often.

"Like what?"

She blinked out of her reverie. "Well, spring cleaning's coming up soon, it would be nice to have some extra hands for that," she said off the top of her head.

"I have hands," Ven said thoughtfully.

"Oh! No, no, dear, I wasn't implying anything like that."

"I don't mind, Cinderella. I think it'd be fun to help you, anyway. You're so nice."

She laughed. "You're the one who's nice, Ven - too nice, I think. Surely you have new duties you should be attending to, don't you?"

"Ah, don't worry, Terra'll- I mean, Young Master Eraqus will understand."

It was a little exasperating, but also very sweet, and Cinderella couldn't help smiling. "I'd hate for you to get into trouble on my account, Ven..."

"Really, it'll be fine. T- Um, the Young Master might even come help, too."

Cinderella burst into laughter at the joke, for of course a lord's son would never even consider dirtying his hands with maids' work. It was heartwarmingly ridiculous enough that Ventus would even offer his own services.

The boy lingered a little longer, but eventually they were forced to part ways. Ven needed to return home, and Cinderella had other customers to see to. "Well...I guess I'll see you around, Cinderella."

"I look forward to seeing you again, Ven dear."

She watched him go, which was why she saw the whole thing.

"Stop! Thief!" Most of the crowd were still registering the cries when a young man suddenly burst between two stalls, his black hair wild and his golden eyes seeming to burn.

"You're a thief?" Ven yelped.

The black-haired boy lunged at him, seizing him in a chokehold.

"Ven!" Cinderella cried in horror as the shopping basket and its carefully selected contents went tumbling to the ground.

Several guards were rushing up, swords drawn and voices raised in angry shouting.

"Back off!" The thief now had a knife against Ven's throat as he cautiously retreated.

_"Ven!"_ Cinderella wanted to scream, but managed to keep her jaws clamped shut. Almost without thinking, she was reaching for the long pole that held up the stall's shade flap.

"If you don't want me to cut this loser's throat," the thief yelled, "you all stay back!"

"Let him go!" one of the guards yelled. "You'll wish you were dead when we get hold of you, scum!"

A couple of the other guards seemed to notice what Cinderella was up to. "Hey, Sai," the red-haired one suggested, "bet you 50 I can get a dagger between his eyes before you can."

"Seeing as how I've won our last six bets," his elf-eared partner mused, "I think it would be in my best interests to accept a seventh challenge." The weapons were already in their hands.

The thief shifted his grip so that he still had Ven by the throat but now had the knife in his other hand, ready to deflect any approaching assault. He was so focused on the guards that he did not notice Cinderella maneuvering around behind him.

She raised the pole high, meaning to bring it crashing down on him, but the length of her own weapon threw her off. The end happened to catch on a large pot resting on a second-story ledge. Cinderella gasped in horror as her aim was completely skewed, the swing missing its target, too much of the force redirected.

The thief whirled to face her, blazing golden eyes seeming to sear her for a moment - until the dislodged pot came crashing down on his head. Ven stumbled free as his captor collapsed.

"_Nice_ one, sweetheart!" the red-haired guard cheered, and the other one who'd helped with the distraction lifted his hand toward Cinderella in a respectful salute.

"Ven!" She ran to wrap him in her arms. "Oh, poor thing, are you all right?"

"I had to be saved by a _vegetable seller_," Ven gasped in mortification. "I could've _totally_ taken him, I just wasn't thinking quick enough and then he grabbed me and - _gah_!"

Cinderella laughed, giving him another squeeze, which he unhappily submitted to.

"Terra and Aqua are gonna think I'm so lame when they hear about this..."

Cinderella sent him off again with a fresh batch of groceries to replace what had been ruined, not saying a word about how she would have to make up for the loss in profits.

The next time Cinderella went to sell produce in the market, she kept half an eye out for Ven. Yet their eventual meeting turned out to catch her completely by surprise - she had just finished serving a customer and was tidying up a pile of vegetables when she looked up. Her field of vision suddenly seemed to be filled with a broad, finely-clothed chest.

"This is the one?" The pleasant masculine tone filled her ears just as the lovely chest was filling her sight.

"Yup," Ven's voice chimed in. "This is Cinderella."

Gasping a little, Cinderella hurriedly straightened up to find three members of a noble house gracing her humble stall with their presence: Ventus; a sharp-eyed, yet serene-faced young woman whose housemaid's clothing seemed oddly ill-suited to her; and a very handsome young man who, judging by his outfit and family crest, could be no one other than the Young Lord Eraqus himself.

"M-My lord," Cinderella stammered, hastily dropping a curtsey.

"I'm Terra," he said warmly, and clapped a hand on Ven's shoulder. "I'm told that I have you to thank for my favorite servant's escape from peril in recent times."

"I've been training harder since then," Ven mumbled, his cheeks coloring.

Cinderella had a difficult time not gaping like a fish out of water. Ventus was so highly favored by the young lord that Eraqus's son had come out among the city's commoners to thank her in person? "I-I only did, well, it was the least I could do. I mean, I wasn't really thinking, I just-"

Lord Terra laughed. "You're right, Ven. She's adorable."

_'Sweet mercy,'_ Cinderella thought, dismayed to feel herself blushing furiously. It was very disconcerting, being complimented like that by such an attractive young man who also happened to be wealthy nobility. "Really, my lord," she murmured. "No need for you to come all the way out here, I was happy to help Ventus." In dire need of a distraction, she turned to the young woman. "Would I guess correctly that you're the Aqua whom Ven has spoken of?"

She did not miss the girl's quick glare at a suddenly sheepish-looking Ven. "I am she," was the displeased acknowledgment. "Please pay me no mind, I am here only in the young lord's service."

"Oh...I see," Cinderella said doubtfully. Aqua seemed to be acting a little more like a secretive, unobtrusive bodyguard than a giggly, gossipy maid. "It's good to meet you, in any case. Ven's seems to think highly of you."

"Aqua's the best," Ven affirmed proudly, then yelped as his master elbowed him in the ribs.

"She's the best at _making beds_ and _mending clothes_," Lord Terra said meaningfully.

"Oh yeah, right." Ven's sheepish look was back.

Cinderella decided that the House of Eraqus seemed to consist of kind but very odd people. "Well...now that you're here, can I help you with anything today?"

Lord Terra looked a little confused. "I thought we were the ones who were gonna help you."

"She means the vegetables," Ven explained. "You wanna buy anything?"

"Oh. Um..." Lord Terra surveyed the vegetables, looking a little dismayed. "We don't...exactly have anything to carry them in..."

Had he really come all the way out here, possibly not for the first time if they weren't sure how often she frequented the market, solely to thank her? "It's all right," Cinderella assured him, sensing that he might be wanting to buy something just to be nice. "There's no obligation to make a purchase. I'm very pleased to see you all regardless."

"What about that kerchief?" Lord Terra asked suddenly.

Cinderella stared. "Pardon?"

He winked. "It's a lot more convenient than the vegetables."

"I - I really, you don't... It's-"

"It's not for sale?" Ven said softly. His eyes were suddenly huge and liquid, his voice containing just the right level of tremoring to make Cinderella want to fling her arms around him and squeeze him tight and kiss him and do anything he asked. _'Oh, you _shameless_ thing,'_ she thought in mixed amusement and exasperation. "I would...be delighted, of course, to sell it to you, provided that it is truly what you want."

"Done," Terra said happily.

Grinning, Ven took out a purse full of the young lord's money. "You're gonna need both hands," he told Cinderella.

"What?" she said in confusion, and then Lord Terra was pouring a heap of coins into them.

She stared at the pile of wealth now sitting in her cupped palms. "I...don't...have change for this," she finally managed.

"Like I said before," Terra said with a little smile, "I am _very_ grateful to have Ven still hale and whole at my side."

Then Cinderella nearly dropped the money, so startled was she by the way he claimed his new purchase. His large, strong-looking hands were surprisingly gentle as they carefully struggled to undo the knot binding the kerchief around her hair. It was very, very, very disconcerting...and pleasant...to have her personal space so interestingly invaded by a very attractive young wealthy nobleman.

"Ter- My lord," Aqua murmured disapprovingly, and Ven chuckled.

Lord Terra himself was a little red-faced when he finally stepped back with the colored cloth in his hands. "That wasn't exactly in line with propriety, was it," he mumbled.

"A great lord of course may do as he pleases when among the vulgar masses," Cinderella teased demurely.

"Gah! It _was_ bad, wasn't it!" Terra groaned. "Forgive me, Cinderella!"

"What's done is done," Aqua said in a businesslike tone, plucking the kerchief out of his hands. She tied it around his neck in a way that would have been very dashing if the effect were not ruined by the fabric's delicate flower pattern.

Cinderella, watching the absently affectionate expression on Aqua's face and the way her hands moved, admired the warmth between master and servant. It was clear that they cared deeply about each other, and about Ven. _'No,'_ she thought. _'They don't act like master and servants. More like...a little mother with two young boys...'_ She had a hard time not bursting into laughter, but it was true. And cute, as so much about this odd trio seemed to be.

"It looks good on you, Terra," Ven laughed.

"It looks awful," Aqua said bluntly, "but I expect you'll carry through with the consequences of your decisions, and I respect you for that."

"What do you think, Cinderella?" Lord Terra pleaded.

"I think that old thing far from warrants being the most expensive kerchief ever sold," she said sternly.

Lord Terra wrapped an arm around the boy's shoulders. "Nah, Ven was totally worth it."

"So I'm only a kerchief's worth?" Ven exclaimed in mock dismay. "What about a bag of apples, would I be worth as much as a bag of apples?"

"No way, Ven," Lord Terra played along. "You're worth at _least_ as much as a horse."

"The finest one in Master Eraqus's stables," Ven agreed.

Aqua looked like she wanted to hit them. "You're both being idiotic. Ventus, you are worth more than the sun, moon, and stars to us."

"Awww!" both boys cried, gleefully wrapping the indignant Aqua in a bone-crushing hug from both sides.

"You know," Cinderella remarked (once she could stop laughing), "I wasn't even thinking of rewards, I would certainly have done my best to help Ven regardless. He is worth a lot to me, too, you know."

The three regarded her for a long moment in complete silence. It would have been disconcerting if Aqua's face wasn't so alight with appreciation and gratitude.

Then the boys broke into an even more enthusiastic "Awwww!" and pounced on Cinderella this time.

"Oh, my!" she gasped, before giving in to laughter again.

"So," Lord Terra finally asked, "about when do you usually finish up here and go back home?"

"Oh, it depends on how well the produce sells, but I do have to return home in time to get supper started." It was not pleasant whenever her stepfamily felt like she had kept them waiting too long for their meals. "I won't be in as much of a rush as usual this afternoon, though. My...masters departed today, and will not be at home this evening."

Or for the rest of the week, at least. Which was mixed fortune... She would have more freedom in their absence, but their unreasonable expectations seemed to increase tenfold as if to make up for it. Her chore list gave her a headache even thinking about it, and she knew she would likely not be able to complete it even if she worked twice as hard as usual, which meant there would be a punishment in store for her upon the family's return. She tried not to think about it. It would not happen today, so there was no use in dwelling on it.

"So do you want us to come back here later?" Lord Terra asked, "Or should we just meet you at your manor?"

They were confusing her again. "Why, whatever for?"

All three of them looked a little surprised.

"You didn't finish that spring cleaning already that you were talking about, did you?" Ven asked.

Cinderella stared.

"My father wouldn't spare more than two hands," Lord Terra explained. Then he chuckled. "He knows me well. Still, I think the three of us should be able to do a decent enough job of helping, don't you?"

Cinderella kept staring. "Helping with...spring cleaning? _You_?"

"Yeah. You and Ven talked about it last time, didn't you?"

Cinderella looked at Ven. "You weren't joking," she realized.

He frowned. "What, did you think I was?"

"Of course you were! He's _Lord Eraqus's_ son!"

"I'm really stronger than I look," Lord Terra assured her, as if that was even the issue. Or as if he looked like a weakling, neither of which was the case.

"I- But I can't _possibly_ let you dirty your hands in such a way, my lord!" Her stepmother would kill her.

"I told you," Aqua said to Terra in a weary tone.

"Just call me Terra," Terra said to Cinderella a little anxiously. "It sounds strange having you call me by titles when I'm going to help clean your house later."

"Oh, no, please, you can't!"

"Cinderella," Terra said. "I don't think you understand the depth of my gratitude. We told you, Ven is worth the sun, moon, and stars to us."

"Plus a horse," Ven added smugly, "_and_ a bag of apples."

It took some time - and a few brimming tears - but Cinderella managed to convince them to drop their mad scheme. They actually looked _disappointed_, the silly things, and ended up buying some apples before bidding her farewell and wandering off.

_'You're all so sweet,'_ she thought as she looked after them sadly. _'I wish more people were like you...'_

She turned away to serve her next customer, and was astounded to find a whole gaggle of them gawking at her. They eagerly burst into a chorus of questions once her attention was on them. Embarrassing as it was to know that she and the son of Lord Eraqus would be raved about in the gossip circles for a while, it was also a relief that her poor customers did not seem to be at all upset over how much she had neglected them in favor of Terra and his servants. _'Make the best of it,'_ she thought, _'always.'_

It was nice to be able to return home earlier than usual, yet not be in a rush. Cinderella got the horse settled and then went back out to start putting things away, and was startled to suddenly meet a pair of blue eyes. Aqua, of all people, was half-hidden in the shadows by the front gate, watching her. The solemn young woman held the gaze for another moment as if in warning. Then she turned and slipped away without a word.

_'Terra knows where I live now,' _Cinderella thought in resignation. _'Lord's son or not, I'll smack him over the head if he shows up tomorrow.'_

She did not, of course. Because no matter how friendly and heedless of propriety he was, he _was_ still a lord's son. And besides...looking into his handsome face and seeing the sparkle in those blue eyes of his, she wasn't sure she could have brought herself to smack him even if he'd been a common swineherd.

"Ahem," Ventus declared importantly. "His lordship the Young Master Eraqus, Terra, has deigned to honor the Tremaine Manor with his illustrious presence."

"Welcome," Cinderella said dryly, feeling very keenly the fact that she was wearing her most patched-up dress and had another kerchief over her hair, a broom in her hand, and dust all over from the cobweb-sweeping she had been working on.

"Good morning," Terra greeted cheerfully, not saying a word about her disgraceful ensemble. He himself looked bright and fresh in a plainer version of the suit he had worn yesterday.

"My most humble apologies, but Lady Tremaine and her daughters are not present at the moment."

Ven was still putting on that playfully arrogant voice, as if he was Terra's stuffy majordomo. "What's this, girl? You mean to send us away as if we were common riffraff?"

...It was obvious that they were not going to make it easy to get rid of them. Besides, Stepmother and the girls were gone. Surely it couldn't hurt to admit the Eraqus trio inside, just this once...? "Very well, please come in," Cinderella invited with a smile. It would set her back in her work (surely, surely they couldn't _really_ be serious about the cleaning...), but she would still enjoy their company.

"Hurrah!" Ven crowed. "I _knew_ you wanted us to come!"

Shaking her head in exasperated affection, Cinderella led them all inside to the parlor.

"You have a very nice house," Terra complimented as they sat down.

"Oh, I know it doesn't compare to your own home, but you are kind to say so," Cinderella said warmly. "May I offer you something to drink?"

Ven leaped up. "Oooh! Let me come with you, Terra's reeeaaaally picky about what he likes, so I have to be _right there_ to make sure it's something he can handle."

Terra adopted a rather pained expression, but said nothing to counter the boy's claim.

"Oh," Cinderella murmured, "well, all right, then..." She showed Ven to the kitchen, where he immediately fell in love with Bruno.

"Who's a good doggie, _whooo's_ a good doggie," Ven cooed as he roughly fondled the dog's jowls between his hands. Bruno's tail thumped happily.

Cinderella smiled as she readied a tray. "I hope Lord Terra won't turn up his nose at this tea."

"Hm?" Ven said absently, now scratching behind Bruno's ears. "Oh, it's fine, Terra'll eat anything."

"_Will_ he, now," Cinderella laughed. "You really are a naughty boy, aren't you, Ven. I wonder what trouble Young Master Imp has gotten into by now."

Ven gave her a startled look. "Huh?"

"Well, which is it? Is he very particular about what he eats, or undistinguishing?"

Ven stared at her in dismay. "Oops."

"Indeed. Well, I'll take this up to them and discover the answer for myself..."

As she had half-expected, the parlor was empty when she returned. "Oh, Terra..." Come to think of it, Ven was nowhere to be seen, either. He must have given her the slip. "For heaven's sake!"

She found Aqua first. The young woman was rolling up one of the hall carpets in a businesslike way, presumably in preparation to sweep the floor beneath. "I suppose there's nothing I can say to dissuade you," Cinderella remarked.

"Your masters will never know we were here," Aqua promised. "And even if it still looks like you might get into trouble, Lord Terra will not balk at bribing them into changing their minds."

"I hope you know that you all are the strangest nobles I've ever seen."

"Technically, only Terra is nobility, and yes, it's likely he _is_ a bit touched in the head," Aqua acknowledged.

The next one she found was Terra, because of the sound of an unholy crash echoing from the dining room. Cinderella came in to find the young lord struggling to get back to his feet and heaving the silverware cabinet up at the same time. "Terra!" she exclaimed.

"Cinderella!" Caught with the large piece of furniture lying heavy across his back, he gave her a stricken look. "I- I didn't mean- I'm so sorry!"

"Are you hurt?" she asked in concern, hurrying over to help, but he gave a last shove and got the cabinet steadied before she could reach him.

"_Man_, I am dumb, I can't believe I did that, it was so stupid of me-" He abruptly went quiet as she anxiously ran her hands over him, trying to determine if there were injuries.

"Oh, Terra, I'm so sorry, I really-" She suddenly came to her senses and jerked her hands off his chest as if it had burned her. "F...Forgive my indiscretion."

"Ummmm... _So_," he said awkwardly, his cheeks noticeably flushed, "I ought to take all this stuff down to the kitchen to wash, right?"

"_I'll_ do that," she said firmly. "I'm going to get a basket to help carry these in, and you _will_ accompany me." Best to keep an eye on this irresistible troublemaker.

"All right," he said meekly.

She got two baskets, since the cause of the trouble ought to help rectify it, and he spoke as if he would have insisted even if she hadn't. Together, they carried piles of silverware back out into the hall where Aqua was working. Ven re-appeared at the same time, dragging a bucket filled with soapy water. "Got it," he said triumphantly.

"Ven!" Cinderella and Aqua exclaimed at the same time.

"What happened to you?"

"You're all wet!"

Ven looked down at himself sheepishly. "I, um, I'm not used to the water pump here...took me a minute to figure it out..."

"Come with me, dear," Cinderella ordered, setting down the basket of silver she had been carrying. "We need to get you changed. You can't go about like that, you'll catch a cold."

"Oh, I'll be fine," Ven tried to say, but Aqua glared and Terra nodded meaningfully and Cinderella marched over to take the bucket away.

She set her hands on his shoulders and steered him toward the stairs. "I still have a few of my father's things, I'll see what we can do."

Ven looked around her room with interest as she opened a trunk and brought out a grown man's outfit. She looked unhappily between it and the slim boy. "Hm...perhaps if I pin it under the arms here..." She meant to do so as soon as he came out from behind the changing screen, but was too distracted by the fact that he emerged without any pants. "Ven!" she yelped. "What about the trousers?"

"There is no way these things are going to fit me," he said, holding out the item of clothing in question. "Look, the belt doesn't even have holes where I'd need to buckle it if it's not going to be useless."

"But- But- You can't walk around with no trousers, it's indecent!"

"But this shirt comes down past my _knees_! Come on, it's just you and Terra and Aqua, and Aqua used to clean up after me when I was a baby so it's not a big deal, and Terra doesn't care, and _you_ don't mind, right?"

"..."

"It's either that or I have to wear one of your skirts."

And so Ventus of the House of Eraqus continued to clean Tremaine Manor with no pants.

At first, Cinderella was rather of the opinion that her three assistants were causing more headache than their 'help' was worth. After an hour or two, though, they seemed to have found their groove, and the work progressed from then on at a steady and impressive pace. _'I'm glad they came,'_ Cinderella thought. _'This is one of the strangest things that has ever happened to me, but it's lovely.'_ She might, _might_ just have a chance of finishing that chore list after all.

After lunch, Aqua and Ven worked on laundry while Terra went with Cinderella up to the attic. "This place hasn't been cleaned out in so long," she mused, "there were always so many other important tasks, and I've never had help like this before."

"Speaking of which," Terra said, "where are all the other servants?"

Cinderella paused.

"I assume you're the head housekeeper or something, but what about the butler and cook and housemaids and everyone?"

"It's just me," Cinderella said quietly.

Terra stared. "No, that can't be. This whole house, with _you_ the only one to take care of it?"

"I have a little help," she said reluctantly. She liked Terra - quite a lot, in fact - but never yet had she found someone she could trust with knowledge of her animal friends.

"What, brownies? Come on, Cinderella, I know your masters are gone, but you can't be _alone_ here, right?"

"I make do well enough."

He stared at her some more. "You're really serious," he whispered.

She smiled and laid her hand gently against his face, wanting his cheerful expression back. "Keep in mind that the family is usually here. Believe me, they are company enough." Getting to take holidays from them like this was utterly worth the accompanying loneliness.

Terra took her hands. "Cinderella," he said firmly, "come stay at our house tonight."

"_What_?" she gasped.

"There's lots and lots of people there, you won't be alone at night, at least."

"Terra..."

"Or let us stay with you! If you don't like the thought of me and Ven intruding, then let Aqua stay and keep you company, at least."

Now _why_ on earth would she think, no matter how briefly, that Terra himself was the one she'd rather have alone at night? _'Don't be silly,'_ she told herself firmly. "Terra," she started to say.

She was about to explain that she had spent many nights alone and would be perfectly fine, but...why not? "If you wish it so much," she finally sighed, though she was smiling a little, too, "I would be happy to host the three of you tonight - as long as the family is still out of town, of course. You're right, it would be nice to have you here for a little while."

"Good! That's settled. Now, um..." He looked around at the dim, crowded attic, filled with heaps of furniture and crates and trunks that were covered in such a thick layer of dust that it all seemed like useless junk. "Where should we start?"

It was more fun than she had expected, opening boxes and sweeping up piles of dust and going through things with Terra to help. "What on earth is _this_?" Terra laughed, holding up a contraption made of wires and ribbons.

"Oh - that was Drizella's, I believe. She made it when we- when she was a child. I don't think she ever managed to get it to work-" not that she had tried very hard, "-and finally just tossed it aside. I've forgotten what it was supposed to be for, actually..."

"Trash, then?"

A moment of hesitation, for Drizella could get quite upset if something she thought she had wanted was discarded. Still, she probably didn't remember this at all, and getting rid of it quietly would be easiest. "Yes, we'll put it with the other things to throw away."

It was later, when Cinderella was sorting through some moth-eaten dresses, that Terra came over to crouch beside her, holding out a packet. "Look at this, Cinderella! It's got my father name on it. I think they're letters."

"Master Eraqus?" she said in surprise, taking the bundle of papers from him and unfastening the ribbon that bound them. As she unfolded the top letter, Terra leaned close to look over her shoulder, so that she could sense his breathing. She couldn't help leaning just a little closer to him as well, so that their hair touched. "_My dearest lady_," she began to read out loud. "_It has been merely two hours since we last parted, yet I have not stopped thinking of you even for a moment. How I long once more to behold your face_- Why, this is a love letter!"

"I didn't know my father had it in him," Terra exclaimed, eyes skimming down the paper. "_My heart races just to remember that enchanted evening by the apple tree_..."

Cinderella lifted the top page away and glanced at the addressee - and her breath nearly froze in her throat. "This was written to _my stepmother_!" she cried in a slightly strangled voice.

"Aaahhhhh!" Terra tugged the letter out of her hands and peered closer at it in disbelief, as if the name would somehow change if he stared at it long enough. "You're right! I can't believe this! My father was-? Wow..."

Together, they pored over the rest of the letters, entirely forgetting that they were supposed to be cleaning.

"..._You are the light of my eyes and more precious than pearls to me_..."

"..._It gave me great joy to be able to see you so unexpectedly_..."

"..._for truly I could have none else but you_..."

"..._but now I must have your answer, else my heart will give way to despair_..."

At first it was all pronouncements of extreme affection, but then the strain began to show, as the letter writer grew more anxious at his beloved's increasingly conflicted feelings, and finally his reaction to learning that she had chosen to marry for security rather than love.

"She married someone wealthy so that she wouldn't have to face anymore hardship," Terra murmured. "But then Father married my mother and became wealthy anyway..."

"And then Stepmother's first husband died and freed her, yet it was too late," Cinderella finished. "She...she married my father instead."

They were silent for a while.

"...I wish I was allowed to choose the woman I marry," Terra finally murmured.

Cinderella found it difficult to answer. She finally shifted a little farther away from him and began to carefully bind up the letters again. "I suppose every place in life has its rewards and difficulties."

She started to get one leg under herself to rise, but was startled to find that Terra had moved back close to her and was reaching out.

"Terra?"

She entirely forgot to finish standing up as his fingertips brushed softly down her face, his eyes holding hers in an intense sort of way.

"Terra..."

"I'd want someone like you," he finally said.

She forgot to answer. She didn't need to.

Their lips were nearly touching when Aqua walked into the attic. "Ah-! ... You don't seem to be making good progress on the cleaning," she finally said in firm disapproval.

Terra leaned back, though he grinned and tugged Cinderella to hold her close to his chest as he did so. "Can you go away and come back later? You might change your mind then."

"My lord, please. I don't want to have to tell your father about this," she said warningly.

"Hmmmm, well, there's some stuff I wouldn't want to have to tell Father, either...like the fact that his heir's chief bodyguard was letting herself get interestingly distracted by a certain spiky-haired soldier the other day-"

"That wasn't what you're assuming!" Aqua gasped.

_'Bodyguard?'_ Cinderella thought. Well, that would explain some things.

"I dunno, you didn't seem to be putting up much of a fight..."

"I- He- ... You have ten minutes," Aqua snapped, whirling to march back downstairs.

"She's mad at me," Terra mused. "I should buy her something nice later."

"She has a point, though," Cinderella said quietly, tugging free and getting to her feet successfully this time. "It's important that you marry well. You shouldn't be indulging yourself like this."

He looked unhappy as he rose to join her. "I apologize...I really didn't mean to put you in a bad spot, Cinderella."

"Mm." She started to turn away before he caught her arm.

"Cinderella. Marrying y- Marrying someone like you would be...would be 'marrying well,' if I have anything to say about it."

She smiled just a little. "But you _don't_ have any say in it. And we've only just met, remember."

"May I see you again, then? Even after the spring cleaning is finished?"

"You shouldn't..."

"Do you really not want me to?"

She smiled again and looked away to try to hide it, not answering.

"You _do_ want me to, don't you!"

"We really ought to get back to work," she said, starting to move back over to the pile of dresses.

He caught her arm again. "Wait."

She glanced back at him. "Terra-"

He slipped his other arm around her waist and drew her close. "Aqua said we have ten minutes, remember? Let's not waste them."

So little time... She couldn't resist anymore, and smiled up at him. "All right."

o.o.o

Author's Notes: Whew, it was kind of hard to fit Terrella, "spring cleaning," "junk," and "impossible love" all into the same fic - I'd intended for this to have a more conclusively happy ending, but unfortunately it didn't work out that way. :/ LOL looks like I didn't need the Eraqus/LadyTremaine subplot after all. XD  
>(Btw, if you're wondering why this is a day late, it's because the mods over on DevArt gave us a deadline extension for the contest. 8D Bless you ladies, I don't think I'd have been able to finish in time otherwise...)<p>

The idea of Cinderella selling produce in the market - I got that from the movie _Ever After_, since it seemed to suit my purposes.

Brownies are a type of household goblin in folklore that'll do chores if you treat them well.

"a certain spiky-haired soldier" - Zack. ;) My second-favorite Aqua ship. Kind of tricky since I prefer him with Aeris, and Terra (first fav Aqua ship) with Cindy, but every so often things'll work out.

I SWEAR I didn't plan the AkuSai! Those guards were supposed to be random OCs, but then they opened their mouths to start talking and I was like, "_Whoa_, hello OTP?" XD

Complete: 8/100


	9. Change

_**Dream Waltz**_**, a Kingdom Hearts fanwork: Drabble challenge by HawkRider, written by Raberba girl**

**Change (Theme 11) [rough draft]**

Summary: She really does want to see him again...

A/N: Modern AU.

o.o.o

"Um...is there a problem...with the barcode, or something?"

His deep voice finally broke through to her, mostly because it sounded so hesitant and apologetic. As if it was _his_ fault she was standing here gaping at him (well, mostly at his chest...he was so _tall_, and had a very easy-to-look-at chest) like a fool instead of doing her job.

"Oh! N-No, I just...I..." Need to stop acting like a smitten schoolgirl. "Your total will be 6.87," she said hurriedly, ringing up his purchase and placing it in a bag. Conversation, conversation, must think of something to converse about before she lost him... "Are you a fan of one of these authors?" was all she could come up with when flustered and on short notice. He was buying a book called _Dream Waltz: Ten Stories of Impossible Love in the Realm of Sleep_.

His face colored a little as he handed over a ten, though he was smiling now. "It's actually a birthday present for my little sister. She's still in junior high, she likes all these love stories, it kind of drives Aqua crazy. Aqua's my other sister." His face colored even more. "I'm rambling."

"No, you're not," Cindy assured him quickly. "I...um..." It was difficult to think of what to say next, because she was mentally trying to fight off a very, _very_ impulsive plan. "D-Do you have a rewards card with us?"

"Um, no..."

"Oh, good!" Now it was her turn to flush. She'd meant she was glad for the chance to keep him at the register longer, for as long as it would take to sign him up. ..._If_ he wanted to be signed up. "I mean...would you like to try out the program? It's free, all we need is your e-mail address." Don't act so eager to know his contact information, don't act so eager to know his contact information, don't act so eager to know his contact information...

"Sure, why not."

He was so _lovely_, and _nice_, yet she couldn't think of anything clever or winning or humorous to say. It was all she could do to try to _not_ sound like she was breathless, or gushing. And to keep fighting off that plan. "How old is your younger sister?"

"Twelve. She'll be thirteen in January."

"You seem to care for her very much, she must be quite sweet."

"She's adorable. Do you have any sisters?"

"Well...yes, actually..." Better not to think of them. "So if this book is for your sister, what sorts of things do _you_ like to read?"

"Well...none, really," he confessed sheepishly. "I'm kind of more of an...outdoorsey guy..."

"Do you play any sports?"

His eyes lit up. He was so _cute_. "Yeah - mostly football, but I'll go out and shoot hoops with Ven and his friends sometimes - Ven's my brother - or, well, this is dumb, but sometimes I'll go out with Aqua and her friends for volleyball...my sister can hit that thing hard enough to crack skulls, I'm telling you."

Cindy noticed regretfully that the line of customers waiting to pay was growing longer. "That sounds like great fun."

"Yeah."

"Well...here is your change. Please come again soon." The sentence usually came to her lips automatically, but this time, she meant it with all her heart.

"Sure. Thanks a lot, Cindy," he said with a smile, reading her nametag. He had the most _beautiful_ smile...

"It was my pleasure," she said with complete sincerity. She watched him walk all the way to the front doors and out of sight, then resisted the urge to slam her head down on the cash register. _'Cynthia, you are a _fool_.'_ Well, no matter...if he was as honest as she hoped, her plan would be successful. If he didn't come back, she would surely be better off without him, anyway, and paying the store back less than 5 wouldn't be _too_ painful...

She pasted a smile on for the next customer in line, who was already marching up to the counter. "May I help you?"

Apparently, Terra had come back and simply taken his place at the end of the line, waiting for his fair turn with her again. She was so busy trying to catch up with all the shoppers she had allowed to accumulate that she actually forgot about him until he came back into her sight. "Hello, how may I help-? Oh!"

He smiled again, even more charmingly than before, and held out his hand with money resting on the open palm. "I think you gave me too much change."

Her face heated up with shy pleasure, and she couldn't stop smiling. "Oh...silly me..." Silly, silly, silly her. All she had done was waste his time, just for a few extra seconds. "Thank you very much for returning it-"

"Terra," he supplied, perhaps thinking that she could have forgotten the name he'd written on the Rewards form.

"Terra," she whispered, and still couldn't stop smiling. "Stalwart, like the earth...that is a very fine name."

"And here's my phone number," he continued unexpectedly, laying a slip of paper (torn off the end of the _Impossible Love_ receipt, actually). "Because...um...I wasn't sure you'd want to give me yours first."

"Why ever not?" she burst out, reaching for a used coupon and a pen.

"Well, because the girls who give me their numbers aren't usually the kind of girls I want to call, and the ones I _do_ want to call always look scared to give me their numbers..."

She was already handing the coupon over. "The only thing I'm frightened of is getting struck with a volleyball if your sister doesn't like me."

"Heh. She can't not like you if she's never met you," he said, almost questioningly.

"Oh...I suppose I should at least wait until we've _had_ a phone call before I think of meeting your family..."

"Do you get off work too late to want ice cream?"

"Pardon me?"

"Because there's that ice cream place down the street...if you're interested..."

"I get off at 3:00," she told him warmly. "I - I can't linger, I'm afraid, but as long as I'm home before 4:00, it should be all right." She could still make a meal from what was left in the pantry, she could afford to go one more day without grocery shopping...

"Great! I'll see you then."

"Yes, please come ag- I mean, I'll see you then," she returned. She watched him walk all the way to the doors again, though this time, he paused to give her a wave and another brilliant smile. Then she started counting the money in her hand. _'Goodness, this time he's the one who gave me too much.'_ She smiled a little. _'I think I'll save it for when I next need an opportune time to return it to him.'_

o.o.o

Author's Notes: Gah, I _do not_ like this one...again, looked better in my head than on paper. DX

Heh, Xi is the BBS trio's sister in this story.

Okay, so. I am discovering that I'm pretty terrible at challenges. -.- In the case of _Dream Waltz_, the impossible love theme is just too hard for me. I still want to finish all the other plot bunnies I got for this series (Traffic and its sequel, Phobia, Challenge, Poll, White, and Legitimacy), hopefully in time for Terrella Day on October 12th; and I'll still update this series with any other Terrella stories I may write after that. Challenge-wise, though, I'm giving up. I want to try again from the beginning with VanShi in the _Stepsiblings_ universe - they're first cousins and Xion is never going to love him any way other than platonically, so that ought to be "impossible love" by definition, right? I'm hoping that'll work better...


	10. Reflection of True Love

Dream Waltz: Reflection of True Love  
>(rough draft)<br>A Kingdom Hearts fanwork: Hundred Words of Impossible Love challenge by HawkRider, written by Raberba girl

_Terra/Cinderella Day, 12 October 2013_

Summary: In her final moments as a single woman, Cinderella wonders if the man she's about to marry is the man she truly loves. Post-canon.

o.o.o

**Part 1 - Mirror (theme 94)**

"Are you nervous?" Jasmine asked, reaching to adjust the veil.

"A little," Cinderella admitted, "but everyone's a bit nervous on their wedding day, right?"

"_I_ was nervous at first," Aurora remembered, "but everything went beautifully. And, honestly - even if the cathedral had come down on our heads, I would have hardly noticed, I was so happy to finally be marrying Phillip after all those delays."

"It's going to be a dream come true for you," Belle reassured Cinderella, fluffing out her skirts so they weren't bunched up by her shoes. Snow White broke out into a spontaneous song about true love, and the other princesses smiled indulgently.

"True love," Cinderella murmured. "That's one of the things I'm worried about: the mirror."

"The one that shows the true love of the bride and groom?"

"Yes..."

"You think that Prince Charming isn't your true love?" Snow White gasped, looking scandalized.

A look of distress crossed Cinderella's face. "It's just...the night of the ball was so _magical_, from the moment my fairy godmother appeared to even long afterward, when each memory made me feel like dancing on clouds. But...when I finally did see the prince again...in daylight, wearing my ordinary clothes, without the music and the sparkling lights and Fairy Godmother's magic..." She shrugged helplessly. "How do you know whether someone really is your true love when you've only spent about a week's time with him?"

"He's your _prince_!" Snow White insisted. "He came for you during the Heartless attack! He danced with you and he wants to marry you and make you his queen, to live happily ever after in his castle forever! My dear prince is just like him."

"Snow," Belle said gently, "how many times have you actually seen your prince?"

"Five times," Snow White said proudly.

Jasmine frowned. "Wait, haven't you been engaged for months? I know that Aqua advised you to wait to marry until you were older and wouldn't be violating her world's 'statutory rape laws,' whatever those are, but aren't you two at least taking the chance to get to know each other in the meantime?"

"Oh, there's no need for that. My dear prince says that I already have everything I need to be his wife, and nothing else matters."

"...I think we might have to get the boys to have a little talk with your prince," Jasmine said grimly.

"In the meantime," Aurora said, "this is _your_ day, Ella dear. Do you think it's just wedding day jitters, or are you...really having second thoughts?"

"...I just...I just wonder," Cinderella said slowly. "Soulmates, two people who were made for each other...is that real? Or is it...possible to...to love two people? At the...same time," she trailed off, flushed with shame.

Aurora and Belle looked at each other with wide eyes. "Two?"

"It's possible," Jasmine murmured, a little dreamily.

"What?!"

Jasmine grinned. "Oh, it wasn't too difficult ot choose - Aladdin truly is the other half of my heart. I just-" She shrugged. "-don't think I would have been miserable with the other one, either."

"What other one?!"

"It's a secret!"

"But-!"

"This is _Ella's_ day, remember?"

Yet Cinderella was lost in thought. "Another man...one who makes me happy, and smiles as if he treasures me...?"

"Who is it?" her friends asked breathlessly.

Cinderella straightened her shoulders and met their eyes again. "Well, if it really is the prince I'll see in the mirror, then it won't matter, will it?"

"Ellaaa!"

"But what's _wrong_ with Prince Charming?" Snow White said in bewilderment.

"Oh, nothing, of course, nothing! He's just...not very big, is he?"

"Small men can still be manly," Jasmine pouted.

"Ella wasn't insulting Aladdin," Belle laughed. "She's just picturing someone in particular."

"_Are_ you?" Aurora questioned Cinderella, her eyes sparkling.

"No! Well, yes...but it's not how he looks, you know! Even though the two of them...do look quite different..."

"Let's get the mirror," Jasmine said suddenly.

"What?! No!"

"Why not? It would be better to find out now, in private, rather than during the ceremony when everyone's watching."

"Ohhh," Cinderella wailed, covering her face.

"Let's do it!"

Aurora, Belle, and Jasmine came out of the dressing room, caught between marching resolutely and sneaking guiltily. They made their way into the cathedral, where seating had already begun. "We certainly could have had better timing," Belle murmured uneasily.

"I've been talking to Nani a lot about her world's courtship rituals," Aurora said quietly. "The three of us seem to have been fortunate, but the more I find out, the more I start to question the way we princesses find husbands..."

"Let's make sure that Ella doesn't make a huge mistake," Jasmine said.

The mirror was in an anteroom near the head of the sanctuary, but now the three young women had a problem.

"It looks so heavy!" Belle exclaimed in dismay. "Even if the three of us carried it together, do you think we could get it all the way to the dressing room?"

Aurora, who was smiling at her husband's image in the glass, didn't answer; Jasmine unhappily surveyed their three sets of slender, delicate arms. "A man would come in handy right about now."

"Aha! I _knew_ I saw you guys come in here."

The princesses jumped, and turned to find Ventus watching them from the doorway.

"Ven," Aurora said happily.

"Hi, Rose."

"Oh, Ven dear, would you please be _very_, very sweet and help us with something?"

"Sure! Did something happen to Cinderella?"

"No, not at all! We were just, er, talking about the mirror, and we...well, we need to get it to the bride's dressing room."

"The bride's dressing room?"

"It would be so _very_ helpful," Belle said.

Ven, beset on all sides by Princess Puppy Eyes, offered no resistance. "Well, sure, but...it's kinda heavy, huh? Maybe I can call up a wind and blow it along..."

"It might break," Belle said unhappily. "We need a more stable method of transportation."

"I wonder if Terra could carry it," Ven said thoughtfully. "I bet he could, he's strong. Want me to go get him?"

"Oh, yes! Thank you so much, Ven dear."

o.o.o.o.o

"But you sang a duet together!" Snow White remembered. "Surely _that's_ proof enough?"

"Well...Ariel and Sora sang together as well...do you think that Sora is Ariel's true love?"

Snow White gasped in surprise, then burst into giggles. "Oh, certainly not!"

"I don't think that singing is proof, then," Cinderella said, resting her chin in her hands.

The dressing room door opened. Cinderella saw the reflection in the vanity mirrors of her friends returning, then when she saw the fourth figure struggling to enter after them with a heavy load, she gasped and whirled around.

"We got the mirror!" Belle said eagerly.

Cinderella felt pinned in place, frozen with delight and apprehension. "Terra," she whispered. He looked even more gorgeous than she remembered.

"Yaa_argh_!" Terra gave one last heave, managing to get the mirror leaning upright against the wall. He turned to face them, and the friendly smile on his face dissolved into awe when he beheld Cinderella in her wedding gown.

There was a long moment of silence.

Belle finally leaned over and whispered to Jasmine, "It's Terra, isn't it."

"The way they're looking at each other... It can't be anyone else," Jasmine whispered back.

"He _is_ bigger than Prince Charming," Aurora added quietly, and all three fought to stifle a burst of giggles.

"Cinderella," Terra said breathlessly. "You look-" He cleared his throat. "You look absolutely beautiful. Charming is a...a lucky guy."

"Thank you," she whispered. "You look fine, too."

"Well, I tried to dres nice for the wedding and all," he said, blushing cutely. "Thanks for inviting me."

"I...wanted you to be here."

There was another long pause, then Terra abruptly cleared his throat again and said, "Um, well, I'd better be, better be going..."

"No," Belle said quickly, "stay - we'll, er, need you to carry the mirror back again when we're finished."

"Yes, yes," Aurora said eagerly. "Please take a seat, Terra."

"Oh...um, okay."

After a while, Cinderella realized that everyone was staring at her expectantly. She gasped, gave a nervous laugh, then stepped up to stand before the mirror.

It was Terra reflected there, just as she had feared and hoped he would be. As she watched, the reflections of Phillip, Adam, and Aladdin drew close and put their arms around Terra like brothers - well, sisters; it was really her fellow princesses embracing her. "I _knew_ we should have checked the mirror before the ceremony," the image of Aladdin chuckled in Jasmine's voice.

Snow White had come up beside them and was staring in astonishment. "Why, _that's_ not Prince Charming, that's- Aaahh!" There was a collective wince at her high-pitched shriek. "Where is my prince?! Where is _my_ prince?! All I see is me!"

"Oh, Snow darling," Aurora said, transferring her embrace to the younger girl, "it seems like you haven't found your ture love yet, dearest."

"But...but the prince! I don't understand."

"I've been thinking, Snow," said Jasmine. "We'll talk to Nani and see if we can set you up on some 'dates' with nice boys a bit closer to your age."

"Dates? What are...?"

"Oh, Nani told me all about it, it sounds quite fun."

As Aurora continued to try to soothe Snow White, Cinderella turned slowly to face Terra, who was watching them with a puzzled frown. "What's wrong, Cinderella?"

"...Terra," she said quietly, "this is a magic mirror. Anyone who looks into it will see the face of their true love, the one they most want to marry and spend the rest of their life with. I...when I looked into the mirror just now, I saw the one I love...and the man I saw was not the same man who's preparing to marry me today."

Terra's eyes widened. "Then who...who was it?"

"Who do you hope it was?" she whispered through dry lips.

He flushed red and looked away.

"Cinderella asked you a question," Jasmine said sternly.

"You'll all laugh at me if I answer truthfully," Terra muttered.

"Why don't you come look in the mirror yourself, then?" Belle challenged.

Terra gave a helpless little chuckle. "Isn't it the same?" Yet he got up and went over and looked in the mirror, and as he and Cinderella gazed at the reflections of her and himself, their hands shifted and clasped.

"What on earth am I going to do?" Cinderella said helplessly. "I'm supposed to marry the wrong man in about fifteen minutes."

"Not if we have anything to say about it," Jasmine said.

Prince Charming turned out to be surprisingly understanding, especially when he glanced at the mirror out of curiosity and only saw himself. "Guess I don't even have a true love at all," he said sheepishly.

"I'm so sorry..."

"It's all right, Cinderella, I'd hate to stand in the way of a good person's Happily Ever After. I'm not even ready to settle down, anyway - I only agreed to all this because Father was so insistent, and you were the first woman who didn't jump at me like a beast trying to sink its teeth into a juicy hunk of meat."

"I was so happy to simply _be_ at the ball, I wasn't even thinking of doing more than catching a glimpse of the prince..."

"Well, I do appreciate it, Cinderella," he said warmly, "and I wish you happiness."

"Thank you so much," she said gratefully, gripping Terr'as hand tight.

"All I'm worried about," Charming continued, "is how Father's going to get grandchildren now. He's really had his heart set on it for a long time, and he's not in the best of health; I'm not sure how much longer he can wait..."

"Maybe you can marry Snow instead," Jasmine said dryly.

"What are we going to do about the wedding, though?" Terra said nervously. "There are _so many people_ here, and it looks like _so much munny_ about to go to waste..."

The prince frowned thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. "If we can figure out a good way to stall, I think I can work something out."

"Really?" Belle said in delight.

Jasmine smiled and raised her hand. "I'll take care of the diversion." She raised her voice and called, "Genie! I need you!"

And so, the wedding guests were treated to / suffered through a very lively performance by Genie, Aladdin, Abu, Carpet, and Iago, as Prince Charming and Phillip good-naturedly explained the situation to Charming's father and nursed him through the subsequent tantrum; Belle explained the change in plans to the priest and a few others; Adam's servants and Cinderella's animal friends feverishly worked to put together a wedding suit for Terra, groomsman suits for Ven and Charming, and a bridesmaid gown for Aqua to match those of the rest of the wedding party; and Ven was given a crash course in how to be a best man.

At last, the organ music started, and the delayed ceremony began. There was a confused rustling as Terra and Ven came down the aisle, then again, behind the usual awed tittering, when the bride made her entrance on the arm of Prince Charming. Everyone who glanced up at the king to see his reaction seemed half-soothed when they saw him watching in a very sulky pose, but with no sign of surprise or alarm.

The music came to a close, and the priest began speaking. After the introduction, he asked, "Who gives this woman away in marriage to this man?"

"I do," Charming said, loudly and clearly. He and Cinderella shared a smile, then he kissed her cheek and gave her hand to Terra before taking his place by the other groomsmen. The crowd was quickly shushed by an obnoxiously indignant Genie, and the ceremony continued. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today..."

The crowd and even the king seemed to soften when it came time for the bride and groom to behold themselves in the magic mirror, and it was each other they saw, looking radiant with happiness. "True love," the priest declared happily. "There is no force on earth more powerful than love. I pronounce this man and this woman, who are united in their hearts, to also be unified as husband and wife. You may kiss your bride!"

Even if Terra and Cinderella _hadn't_ had Genie whooping and setting off fireworks around them as they shared their first kiss, the effect would have been the same.

**Part 2 - Leave (theme 26)**

It was a rather awkward wedding reception, with everyone and their mothers hounding the bride and groom about the bizarre switch. Cinderella weathered it with her usual good grace, and Terra suffered through it with a smile, feeling like it was penance for stealing another man's almost-wife. He was still getting off incredibly easy. "Charming...I know I've told you this fifty times already, but _you are an awesome guy_ and _I owe you big time_."

"Don't worry, Terra," the prince said with a wink, "I'll be calling in that favor eventually."

"Feel free. Seriously. Any time." Terra paused, then blushed a little. "That is...any time after the honeymoon..."

Charming laughed. Then he moved over to where Cinderella was talking to Belle. She turned to meet him with a smile, and he took her hands, murmuring, "I hope you don't mind, Cinderella, but the cost of wedding itself will have to count as my wedding gift to you. The royal treasurer has already had heated words with me about it..."

"Of course, of course! I'm afraid th-there's no way I could reimburse you otherwise, and we _do_ still want to at least pay for some of it-"

"Don't fret about it, dear."

"No, please, I insist!"

Cinderella was extremely grateful for the people who were openly supportive, particularly her friends, the other princesses who clustered around her and defended her with polite, dangerous smiles. Whenever anyone didn't take the hint and continued to be relentless with their nosy questions or criticism, Genie would come swooping in to rescue her with his outrageous theatrics.

"Really, Cinderella," Aqua pouted playfully at one point, "all that work to get you and the prince back together again, and you end up jilting him for my best friend..."

"Do you really mind, Aqua?" Cinderella said anxiously.

Aqua smiled and hugged her. "When you're practically my sister now? Of course not."

The one who made Cinderella's heart hurt most was probably the king. "My dear," Charming's father said with heavy resignation, cradling her hand in both of his, "I was very much looking forward to having you as a daughter."

"I'm so sorry, Your Majesty," she said, her heart aching as she kissed the top of his head. "I know that I've behaved most abominably, but...I couldn't...I just wish I'd known sooner-"

"There's no arguing with true love," he said softly.

"Do you...do you think we could at least be friends, Your Majesty? Or do you never wnat to see me again after tonight? I wouldn't blame you in the least."

"My dear, you are welcome in this castle any time."

He thought wistfully that her bright smile was, in itself, reward enough for such a declaration.

Cinderella's real father-in-law, or at least the closest thing she had to one, was a bit more intimidating than the one she thought she would have. Master Eraqus surveyed her with a thoughtful frown. "Hmm...never wielded a weapon in your life before, I suppose."

"Not unless you count a broomstick, sir," she said good naturedly.

"And can I assume you would be unwilling to learn?"

"Me?" she said in surprise. "Learn to fight?"

"You're a Princess of Heart. It would be a great advantage if you were able to defend yourself, rather than relying on others to do it for you."

Cinderella still keenly remembered what it had been like to be a prisoner of darkness. She straightened up and smiled. "If you are willing to teach a woman how to fight, sir, then I would like to learn."

"Very well. You'll be more interested in your honeymoon, I suppose, but as soon as you return, we shall begin."

"Yes, sir!" She was still smiling despite her blush.

Ven glomped her as soon as Eraqus had walked off. "Ellaaaa! You're really gonna train with us?"

"It looks that way," she laughed.

"_Yes_! I'm so happy you're one of us now, Ella! I really like you."

"I'm quite fond of you, too, Ven dear," she said, kissing him and trying not to comb her fingers through his enticingly untidy hair.

"I _can_ call you Ella, right?"

"Of course, love."

Just before it was time for the bride and groom to leave, the other princesses came to embrace Cinderella and bid her farewell.

"Oh, Ella, I'm so happy for you," Jasmine said, squeezing her in a tight hug.

"Thank you so much, Jasmine, Rose, Belle, Snow, all of you," Cinderella said warmly, hugging them each in turn. "I feel so incredibly happy...if it weren't for you girls, I would have..."

"We just wanted to make sure you had the best Happily Ever After you could get," Belle said, kissing her cheek.

"Go on, Ella - your real prince charming is waiting for you."

Just as Cinderella was turning away, Aurora caught her arm and whispered in her ear, "It might take a few tries, but once you get the hang of it, sex is _the most wonderful thing_."

"You found out what sex is?!" Cinderella whispered back eagerly.

Aurora gave a sly grin and shoved her toward where the groom was waiting.

Terra helped Cinderella onto the Keyblade Glider first, laughing when her skirts got tangled and she impatiently kicked her shoes off. Then he mounted, and they took off amidst cheers and a shower of flower petals. Cinderella tossed her bouquet, which landed directly in Ariel's outstretched hands like a bird coming to rest. As Ariel squealed in excitement and the other princes laughingly clapped Eric on the back, two people stooped down at the same time to retrieve the delicate footwear Cinderella had left behind.

"She lost her slipper again," Charming murmured with an affectionate smile. "Both of them, this time."

"I don't understand," Snow White murmured, gazing at the shoe in her hand. "You weren't her true love after all...?"

"I think she'll be more happy with him than she would have been with me," Charming said thoughtfully. "It's too bad - I wouldn't have minded being married to her."

"Maybe I have a different true love, too," Snow White said cautiously, as if testing out the idea. "Maybe I can wait a little longer."

"You've got your whole life left to live, princess, and handsome princes are only a part of it.

"Really?!"

He laughed. "Come with me the next time I go traveling. There's so much to see and do just in one world, much less all the ones there are to explore now. It amazes me every time, all the people there are to meet, all the food to try, all the art to see, all the stories to hear - it makes me restless whenver I'm home, as if I'm _missing_ things. I love to travel, and it's fun to have a companion to share with."

Snow White smiled. "I think I would like that."

o.o.o

Author's Notes: Thank you SO MUCH, Kiryn - I am never gonna be able to ship Prince/Snow again. XD Creepy necrophiliac pedo stalker...

When Cinderella told Terra he looked "fine," it was in the older sense of the word, "choice, excellent, or admirable." Nowadays, the meaning has shifted a bit in everyday conversation. ^^;

Prince Charming may not have much personality in the original _Cinderella_ movie, but he's actually a pretty great guy in the sequels. I'd still prefer that Cindy end up with Terra, but I don't dislike Charming the way I now really dislike Snow White's prince. ^^;

Most weddings are DANG EXPENSIVE. I started thinking about that every time I see some chick flick where either the bride or the groom runs out in the middle of the ceremony. It's such a _huge_ waste of money, all in the name of unrealistic Hollywood dramatics. *sweatdrop* Charming really is being insanely generous with his wedding gift in this fic even _if_ Terra & Cindy manage to pay for some of it, especially since the budget had been for a royal wedding. ^^;;;

In the third Cinderella movie, Charming's father reveals himself to be a sap for true love. XD

Although I do understand and support the idea that some characters' gifts and talents lie in their strength of heart or something similar, and that characters, especially females, shouldn't be required to be skilled in combat in order to be valued by readers/viewers - I also do think that people with the capability of physically defending themselves should learn how to, at least at a basic level. :/ I didn't mean to imply that Cinderella will be a better person if she becomes some sort of bad-a warrior, and she's not going to be a real warrior even in this story/universe. But I figured that Eraqus would place some value on combat skills and would _prefer_ his sort-of-daughter-in-law to learn, and that Cinderella wouldn't be adverse to the idea, particularly since she _is_ a potential target and it would be helpful if she gained even some rudimentary skill at fighting. Her focus will always still be on what she does best, but I don't think it could hurt if she knew some self-defense on the side.

I got the impression from the original movie that Prince Charming isn't home very often, and I assume that means he's more interested in traveling than in settling down with a family? Anyway, I don't even know if I'm shipping Charming/Snow or not, I just thought their interaction was interesting. ^^;

It's been a little over a year since I updated this series... ._. Wow. Sorry, guys.

For a while, my Terrella writing inspiration had died (they're still my favorite romance couple in KH and I still like drawing them, it's just that I adore platonic love so much more than romance), and I thought I'd have to give up on the challenge. HawkRider did say I could use other pairings, such as Vanitas/Xion in my _Stepsiblings_ series (since Xion will never see him as anything other than her cousin ^^;) or Demyx\Larxene or Axel\Larxene, and that helps. Luckily, while I was on vacation this summer, I started hand-writing some drabbles for this challenge in my notebook, and found that my Terrella inspiration seems to be back. ^^ Since the two Terrella drabbles I finished during summer 2013 were so closely connected, I decided to combine them into a two-part one-shot and post it for Terrella Day. I still don't know if I can do all 100 themes for Terrella, but I do want to finish the challenge in some way, even if it takes me a really long time.

Complete: 11/100


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